focusedvoid: (shade of you)
[personal profile] focusedvoid posting in [community profile] boxfullofzeroes








They're not dead.

Less dead than they'd felt, at least. Their shell doesn't normally take so long to reform.

Then again. Their shell doesn't usually break of their own violation as they ascended in a boiling rage, ate at least one realm, a god, and all the Godseekers.

(That last point is debatable, actually. There's some odd sense, deep under their...shell? Void? Wherever they once stored things like Isma's Tear, much deeper now...that the sea-mind is still there, sluggish and held in a stasis. They're already adjusting enough, and they don't seem to be dying or trying to kill them, so that problem is neatly sorted as 'for later'.)

They push their body to stand. Their horn clangs uncomfortably loudly against the grate they've apparently woken up beneath. They're somewhere in the Royal Waterways. A quick check of the map--or, not so quick, as it takes time to locate where it had been--shows they've risen about halfway through, closer to the City of Tears than the White Palace. They'll go to the Stag Station in the City Storerooms next.

So they think. Complications arise on the way.

The Infection is gone, leaving dead Flukes, Pilflips, and Hwurmps in piles enough it takes time to force their way past. Their body seems too small. No, their body is fine--there's something wrong with perception itself. That will take time to adjust to.

Then, they discover the Monarch Wings now stretch and warp when used, twisting around the nearest pipes after landing before the Knight forcibly calls them back. Shade Wings, they decide to call these.

Once they're high enough to hear the rain above, they realize a noise they'd ascribed to water running in the distance is, in fact, something swirling behind their mask. Many somethings. All the fragments of Siblings with enough self left, staring out from their eyes. It's disconcerting.

By the time they actually get out of the Waterways, they're using their Shade Wings to grip ledges and drag themselves up, with those holding onto things better than their own arms are with the Mantis Claw. 

The Knight faceplants awkwardly onto the floor of the building Lemm's shop is in. If the City is the same as below, there's little left to try killing them in the area.

They'll just take a moment here, thanks.

Date: 2023-03-19 07:54 am (UTC)
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
He is at first more interested in the scenery, though that is usually included in the list of reasons why Lemm goes anywhere.

But it isn't long before his attention is drawn straight to the armour lying on the ground, partly because of their smacking the thing with their Nail (which he opts not to comment on this time, it had been his suggestion). His pace quickens to cover the last bit of distance.

"Aye, look at that..."

Oh, definitely metal. It should be on a stand somewhere, seeing it lying on the floor is maddening. Trouble is he's got absolutely no chance of lifting it. Lemm gingerly puts out a hand and smooths it over the shoulder piece.

... Ah.

He snaps to look at the Knight. "You fought this."

Date: 2023-03-19 08:21 am (UTC)
capitalcurator: (Default)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
"It's massive!"

Yes, Lemm, it is. Very astute. Mostly he's just commenting in the way of you had no business fighting anything this big even though he knows it's... more complicated than that. Still, hadn't they not had the power of the Shadelord back then?

He is equal parts disapproving and impressed.

"What are you looking at?" Lemm comes around to join them by the head of the armour, and his interest piques. "Ah. Oh, that's interesting."

Lemm peers over the Knight's horns at the hole in the neck, and gives a thoughtful hum. He disappears for a moment to go and borrow a lumafly light from a nearby post, and returns to hold it carefully past their shoulder to see into the hollow space.

It looks rather complicated in there.

"Finger trap hazard if I ever saw one," Lemm remarks, faintly amused.
Edited (too many italics >:/) Date: 2023-03-19 08:21 am (UTC)

Date: 2023-03-19 10:02 am (UTC)
capitalcurator: (Default)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
"Hm. It does look like it'd take practice." He's fascinated. Lemm is so very tempted to stick his hand in -

"- Ah!" he exclaims, flinching back from the arm that moved. He huffs at himself. "...Responsive, isn't it."

Lemm glances around, suddenly curious, and eyes the pole that once made up part of the False Knight's weapon. He pushes the glass light into the Knight's hands distractedly and goes to drag the pole over, setting it against the armour's open gauntlet, and steps back.

"Should be a way to make it grab," he hints, looking very interested indeed. "Watch yourself though."

Sometimes this is just what a Relic Seeker's curiosity looks like: not entirely dissimilar to a child with a new toy. He would likely be displeased to have this pointed out.

Date: 2023-03-19 04:02 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (Default)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
Lemm spectates, hands stuck expectantly on his sides. If he could actually see what they were doing he'd probably be trying to give them tips, not that he has any idea how it works either.

Seeing the obvious struggling going on, Lemm fails to stifle a faint snicker.

"S'harder than it looks, eh? Never seen anything like this up close." He looks thoughtful, and adds: "Knowingly."

He sidesteps, keeping out of what he estimates to be the range of any mistakenly-flailed limbs, and gets a look at it from a side angle.

"Look at the weight of that! Fierce thing to go up against, and a feat of engineering at that. Great Knight indeed." ...Should he be encouraging them to muck about with this armour, really? Maybe he'll tell them to stop. In a minute. They're busy with puzzling it out, which feels like an excellent change of pace.

Date: 2023-03-19 05:10 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (Default)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
He circles further around to the front, watching them get to grips with... at least some of its functions, and looks suitably impressed.

"Ah, look at how the plating shifts! Subtle, but it looks like it's for freedom of movement - it'd bend almost any way a real bug might." He winds his shoulder experimentally, like he's mentally comparing the two. "It'd have to for combat, of course, but I wonder if that didn't go a long way towards Hegemol's image..."

Lemm tilts his head thoughtfully as he observes the Wings they put out.

"What's that? The controls?" ...Ah, no, how the controls are used. He twigs a second later and squints. "Isn't that a suspicious number. What're you thinking, then? Hegemol's a spider, is he?"

Date: 2023-03-19 05:40 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (...)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
"Hm. That'd track well enough."

Oh, he really should discourage this sort of thing. Playing around with the arms is far enough. It may be armour, but it's also a relic, absolutely so. A memento of a Great Knight, no less! He absolutely should not be an enabler here.

Lemm's hands come up and he fidgets with them, picking at his blunt claws and clearly having some heated inner debate about it as he stares at Hegemol's armour intently, with the occasional glance back at their writing.

"...Oh, I can't be stuffy about this, can I. Just don't break anything."

Date: 2023-03-20 10:19 am (UTC)
capitalcurator: (this isn't a museum)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
Lemm, who has a healthy sense of self-preservation, steps well back.

He gives a soft huff at the sight of the Knight Void-shifting into the armour. It's probably not going to be unsettling forever to watch them do things like that. Might stay a novelty, though.

"Aye, aye! Mind your face, will you?"

Oh, it does look like they're going to have some trouble here. Lemm gives a quick glance around at the environment they're in, familiarising himself in case there's any particular need to duck for cover.

"Easy does it," he advises. Then, with a hint of amusement: "Oddest thing I've seen in a while. You look like it tried to eat you and got beheaded."

u little squit

Date: 2023-03-20 11:18 am (UTC)
capitalcurator: (Default)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
They'll hear a very indignant scoff in response.

"Lucky for you you're wearing that or I'd come over there." Emptiest threat he's ever made.

Despite his best efforts, it is becoming rapidly more obvious from the outside that Lemm's inner debate earlier was more about trying to talk himself out of this, not into it. He's hovering, absorbed in what they're doing and apparently having a grand time watching them fumble about.

Or it's practical research on a well-preserved relic. Take your pick. Either way, good thing the Knight seems very distracted.

Maybe he can be helpful?

"Bring - bring a knee up," he suggests. "Leave the other one! See if you can get into a kneel. Might be somewhere to go from." So that they can stand. Also so that he can see what a kneel looks like on Great Knight Hegemol. "No, bend that one..."

Date: 2023-03-20 02:11 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
Lemm flags both hands at them in a defensive gesture. "All right, all right! Don't mind me, will you."

Lemm tilts his head at the rather snapped-looking limb situation and makes a mildly displeased noise.

Telling them a second time not to break anything is probably moot.

"Ugh. Stop moving so I can come closer," he directs. "I've a theory and I don't fancy getting my shell cracked while I test it."

Date: 2023-03-20 02:27 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (Default)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
He stops to put his bag down, first. There's an Arcane Egg in there! He's not getting something that fragile anywhere near this situation.

Lemm strides over, first pausing by the front to peer up and get a sense of where their field of view might be; then he gives a gesture to warn them he's leaving it. He circles around to the twisted leg.

"Let me know -" a tiny pause, and an easy solution as to how "- tap on the metal somewhere if you can feel this at all."

He dubiously examines the offending limb. No harm in trying, he supposes.

Lemm takes firm hold of the leg, braces himself against the floor, and just attempts to wrench the thing back the right way - carefully at first, then with increasing effort as he realises exactly how heavy the metal is and how difficult this is actually going to be in practice.

Very, as it turns out.

Date: 2023-03-20 02:47 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
There's a pause, and the fussing stops.

In a voice clearly supposed to sound like he isn't out of breath, Lemm snaps:

"You can't have felt that."

It didn't move! ...Did it. He doesn't think it did.

Another pause, this time as Lemm debates whether or not to try again anyway and risk the Knight trying to signal him another way - okay, yes, unwise.

He has confirmed to himself this thing is nigh-indestructible to a bug like him, though.

There is a loud thwack as a rather peeved Relic Seeker gives the armour's leg a spiteful kick. Then he storms back to where he was, to stand there sulking with his arms folded.

"...Sorry," he grumbles.

Date: 2023-03-20 03:07 pm (UTC)
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)
From: [personal profile] capitalcurator
He catches this gesture and reacts with little more than a loud, frustrated sigh. He'll get over it.

In the meantime, he returns to being a spectator.

"Aye! That looks right. - Ah, no, watch yourself-!"

Crash.

Lemm has taken several urgent steps forwards before managing to remind himself that - as far as he knows - the armour and the Knight inside it are more than enduring. And given what just happened, getting close again probably isn't a good idea.

"You're all right in there, are you?" he tentatively asks, just in case.

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sitting on that one for a while ngl

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