maskormenacelogs | softember more like sobtember amirite

[before the month can become quite dire and the beast in De Chima wreaks havoc too great, business as usual in Maurtia Falls finds itself peppered with some beasts of its own! the last lingering vestiges of the cryptid influx finds a few wreaking a bit of havoc here and there in the warehouse district at the far end of the canal.

it's nothing a princess can't handle, especially when she can not only fly, but punch really hard now! she means to do the latter just well enough to subdue the beast instead of outright killing it, but this shambling mothman wants no part of mercy this afternoon. after sounding off another ear-straining scream, it makes another lunge for her -- one she meets halfway with Falchion branded.

she'll make quick work of this.

however, she's not aware of the pair of men taking point from across the street -- the ones who led the monster onward toward town with hopes of fishing for and singling out some choice imPorts. a heavy-hitter like Lucina might be too big a score for them, so maybe that's why the one with the rifle is trying to track her movements by her head through that scope of his...]

[ Bodhi's walk in Maurtia falls is a short one, his favorite dinning spot is down this way - well worth a trip through the porter. Since what had transpired with him and Hux the month before, he'd kept his head down. He'd come to terms with what he'd done, even if his actions weren't entirely his own but it'd still been difficult.

It's the first time he's really been out and about beyond work and walking Ace. He hears the noise as he crosses the street to go back to the Porter, the sounds of a scuffle and thinks to see what's going on, if he should intervene, distract or simply call for help from someone else.

Creeping up, he peeks around the corner to see a familiar figure lost in a flurry of motion. He doesn't see what she's fighting, but the scene directly in front of him - two snipers taking aim at an unsuspecting Lucina has a surge of fear settling in him. Act, now. As one of the men tightens his finger on a trigger and pulls, the bullet is suddenly ricocheted off a shield of blue energy, and back towards the wall nearest them. While they're wondering what the hell happened, one of them grunts as they're bodily knocked to the ground by the pilot who'd summoned the shield to begin with. ]

[the sharp sound of the ricochet doesn't quite match up with a monster's squeal upon being sliced, and the glare of bright blue in her peripheral startles her off her footing. fortunately, she's a pace away from being struck by any monster flailing, so she can spare a glance over and realize there's more to this scene than she first thought.

is that...?]

Bodhi?

[she wasn't sure at first, but the sight of those goggles amidst the wrestling confirms it. she can only spare a second longer before she has to address the mothman in the room, but the goon who hadn't been laid out was pulling out a pistol--]

Look out!

[ In the flesh!

Bodhi opens his mouth to respond, but all he gets out is a grunt (which might also be because the man he happened to be fighting elbowed him in the stomach), but he recovers enough to push the goon down on the ground. Appearing dazed, or losing consciousness - he's not sure.

But Lucina's warning comes and his reflexes are just enough for him to dart up and out of the way as he hasn't had a chance to regenerate the shield. ]

[Bodhi's wiry form and resting nervous face tend to deceive her into assuming him less battle-hardy than he truly is, and it's why she is both impressed and relieved to see him take out one of those villains so handily and still have time to evade the other. she needs time to manage this mothman, after all!

it has no fear in regard to getting up close and personal, swords be damned apparently: she finds she must grapple one-handed, the other being held aloft to keep the blade at bay. once she's got her footing, though, she has no fear of being overpowered; this thing is on its last limb.

limbs. there's a lot of limbs, but it's on the last of them, so to speak.]

RrrrrAUGH!

[wrenching her wrist free, Lucina swings Falchion around and thrusts it into the beast's middle, walking forward with it until she could hear the metal scrape the wall ahead of her behind all that animalistic squealing. she'd have rather it not come to such an end, but it was giving her little choice! and she can't risk it going wilder and going after a friend, to boot.

she yanks free of it, sidestepping to let it drop and squirm, and turns her attentions toward the other side of the street. either she's going to swoop over there to throw a man, or Bodhi's got everything covered...]

Ah-! Oh!!

[the last thing Lucina expects when she yanks her door open is Darin, in the process of knocking, himself. after startling, she takes a step back to catch her breath, nearly overwhelmed by...a lot all at once. she's not looking so hot, in more ways than one.]

Gods...Darin. Hello. I'm sorry. You...you startled me. What're you...doing here?

[It's one of those early fall days where you can feel the chill in the air but it's still weirdly humid. The skies are grey and dour, which likely is contributing to both of their moods, and every so often it starts to rain except it doesn't. A few drops, threatening people with a cold shower, but nothing more.]

[It's like the sky has an unfortunate weight to it.]

[Darin, for the most part, looks confused. Concerned and confused. But he doesn't bring it up.]

We...discussed me coming over today. I was gonna winter proof your place.

We... [she wavers for a moment, then realization brings a grimace to her face as she sighs out.] Oh--right. Forgive me. I'd completely forgotten, since all of the... [mid-thought she's already shifting expressions, trying to perk up as she steps back, gesturing him to enter.]

No, no. This is good. I can help with the work, yes? I was looking for something to do today, so this is perfect. Come in.

O...kay...

[There's clear concern on his face but...well, for once, he doesn't press. Lately, he's felt like there's more bothering Lucina than she lets on but, whether it be out of pride, stubbornness, or something more, she hasn't seemed too keen on talking to him about it.]

[A lot of people seemed to be avoiding him lately. He can't help but wonder if maybe he did something. Maybe he changed too much in his time away. Or maybe they were upset with him for being ported out in the first place? He couldn't figure it out and he was afraid to pry.]

[He makes his way in and looks around. This was the first time he was ever in Lucina's place.]

Ah...thanks. Anyway, I guess the first order of business is to check the windows for any kind of a draft...

[it's not too shabby, is it? definitely not a new place, but quaint enough with the furnishings she chose -- garish as always. and, yeah, she...probably should've picked up some of her clothes and belongings laying around, and maybe the takeout on the coffee table needs to get pitched, but it's not like the floor is littered with rubbish!

she hastens ahead of him to snag at a stray water bottle in his path, red-faced, and keeps going on into the kitchen.]

Very well. There's only a few. I can see to that. I can--oh-- [she blinks, just as she's setting the bottle down, another fast thought hitting her.] I can...get you something to drink, too? If you like?

...You don't have to worry about cleaning up, you know. I lived with a guy who kept rescuing farm animals for a few months. Nothing but goats all the time. I've definitely seen worse.

I'm fine. I'll show you what to look for if you just...point me to the nearest window.

[Does this feel awkward to you?]

[oppressively so. and gods, she doesn't know what to do about it! if she can't even maintain some bit of order in her own, tiny living space, what more can she do outside? she's already let Luke down, and that's way, way bigger than some loose floorboards or dirty gutters.

it's after her feeble pointing toward the windows behind the sofa and his back is to her that Lucina's expression starts to crack, and it's all she can do to scramble to get it back together. she turns and goes to yank open the window above the stove open, wincing at the slight splintering her too-forceful pull causes on the wood housing it.]

Gods...! [she lets go, backing away and bringing a hand to her forehead, trying to push a breath, a laugh, something out.] Well...well, that's probably an obvious one...

[Darin winces when he hears the crack. He's definitely done that before. More often than he cares to admit.]

If...you're not up to it, we could always reschedule, you know. I could just...leave you alone.

[He lets the offer slip before he realizes it. That he no doubt just made her feel worse by calling attention to the way she's acting and, knowing her, she's going to blame herself for making him want to leave.]

I-I mean, there's no rush! We've got a few months and maybe I can help you clean up instead...?

[It's a weak recovery and he knows it. He sincerely doubts she'd want him lumbering around picking up whatever she's left lying about.]

I-I'm sorry. No, that--

[she keeps herself facing the window, dragging her hands through her hair, holding it up and away from her neck for a beat before letting it go after she gulps, exhales, and lets her hands fall to her sides.]

...I'm sorry. I'm trying very much to...keep ahead of myself here. But that just means I'm tripping over things I can't see.

[she huffs again, leaning forward with her hands on the stove (it's turned off it's fine), shoulders slouched a bit as her head bows.]

This is why...Ash doesn't want me doing my shifts right now. I can't even blame her, but...if I don't do something...

[Okay, whatever this was? This was a lot. Especially for Lucina. She's tamping whatever's going on down like she's a powder keg, striking that powder with an iron rod.]

[All it takes is a spark.]

[Darin makes his way to the kitchen and stops in the doorway.]

...Lucina...

[What does he say here?]

...L...Look I...

Maybe I'm not the one you want to talk to right now...but...

If something's wrong...if there's anything I can do...even if it's getting the person you do want to talk to...

Just...y'know...name it. I'll do it. Whatever you need...

closed to bodhi

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closed to darin

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closed to goro

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