escordvi | [closed] 🌱🏛️ quiz, vol. 01

[Kaveh does reach over and rub a hand down Alhaitham's back, hoping that it helps...the nice thing about shellphones is he can type on them one-handed. And he is concerned about the trip out there...and the trip back. Well, one thing at a time...

Soon enough, Mehrak makes a trilling beep that indicates they're getting close to the noted area, and faintly, there's sound of singing over the fog...]

...Ah, is that the...?

[Kaveh's already fishing out the earplugs he brought.]

[Kaveh's touch does bring about some measure of comfort for Alhaitham, though certainly nowhere near enough to dispel the queasiness completely. At some point Alhaitham ends up having to close his eyes when even the act of looking feels like too much, focusing on his breathing instead to try and squash the growing discomfort.

For better or worse, he manages to keep himself from throwing up, though it might have been better if he did, given what they're here for. When the sound of the singing begins to make itself known he reaches up blindly with one hand and gets his sound cancellation on, then reaches out to rest one hand against Kaveh's thigh, tapping a quick message.]

Not alone.

[Kaveh glances over to mehrak, who projects some dots up to give a number of how many sensed, and then taps at the back of Alhaitham's hand to respond. Mehrak is aiming them for a small little sandbar for solid(ish) ground to fight on, but...]

Three. Might get to us before sandbar. Ready?

[A frown appears on Alhaitham's face at the message. Not being able to get on solid ground is far from ideal, but they'll have to make do since its best to not risk drawing attention from their targets before they've even started.

Knowing that Kaveh is watching him, Alhaitham simply nods in response, hand on Kaveh's thigh giving it a quick squeeze before he pulls away, moving to touch his earpieces as he opens his eyes to focus as the boat draws closer to their supposed destination. They may not be able to reach solid ground, but if they get close enough his flicker will be able to do the rest of the work.]

[Kaveh calls Mehrak to them as they approach the sand, knowing there's no need to steer now, and not a moment too soon. They're just in range of the flicker when a hand grabs the side of the boat, trying to pull itself up--or tip it over.

The mermaid in question very quickly loses that hand to a claymore, but unfortunately, zombies don't seem to mind that much. Looks like it's go time.]

[The sudden shift of the boat is more than enough of a reason for Alhaitham to get off, which he does with a quick flicker that lands him right at the edge of the sandbar. He turns around once he's on his feet, watching from a distance now as more of the zombie mermaids make themselves known now, seemingly intent on clambering onto the boat where Kaveh still is.

Jaw clenched, Alhaitham quickly fashions out a blade of pure Dendro energy and flings it towards the mermaids, stabbing one of them through the hand with that very same blade. That particular mermaid is forced to let go, falling back into the water with a splash—but that is only one of several others, and so Alhaitham quickly goes on to deal with the next one, letting that first blade dissipate and making a second that he sends to do the same, except this time its through the head as he's able to chart a path to make it happen.]

[As Alhaitham uses dendro energy, naturally bloom cores appear, which Kaveh immediately reaches for. One of the ones he touches and bats aside turns a golden color...? Worry about it later. For now, he detonates all the cores, knocking the mermaids back with a shriek, and scrambles onto the sandbar as the boat runs aground.

There are...a lot more than three mermaids. The gesture Kaveh just made is not technically sign language but his ire is probably fairly well understood. Either way, Alhaitham's powers are much better at causing the dendro reactions than his, so he's keeping himself guarded for the setup.]

[Once Kaveh manages to get ashore Alhaitham wastes no time in upping his offensive. He still needs a bit more time before he can flicker again, so he takes the time to try and regroup instead, moving himself closer to Kaveh as the mermaids recover from the earlier blast and now move towards where the two of them are. They won't willingly beach themselves, but Alhaitham knows from experience that it won't stop them from being dangerous. At least having their ears blocked out is already half the battle dealt with.

Once he's close enough to Kaveh Alhaitham gives his senior a once over, just to make sure he's alright, and once satisfied turns his attention back to the mermaids. The Vision on his shoulder flares once before he flickers forward, Light-Chisel Mirrors appearing alongside him when he reappears in midair which in turn summons forth a flurry of Dendro projectiles that come raining down with him when he executes a plunge attack onto the mermaid closest to them, all of them indiscriminately attacking the rest of its ilk nearby and creating even more Bloom Cores in the process.]

[Kaveh counts to a beat of three after Alhaitham goes in to step forward, Mehrak brandishing the claymore in a circular sweep in front of him as he walks straight into the middle of the bloom core cluster. A few more turn golden as he passes them, which he notes, but lucky for Kaveh, the healing magic he'd hoped for harms the undead. even so, he tosses one as it detonates as a warning for Alhaitham to hop back, and once he does, Kaveh sweeps the site clear once more, detonating the whole cluster at once.

Unfortunately, any mermaids who survive this assault are likely to be the clever kind...]

[Alhaitham is quick to pick up on the cue when it comes, having been on the receiving end of one too many Bloom Core explosions in the past to not desire being caught in more when he can help it. He backs off swiftly, allowing Kaveh to come in with Mehrak to deal with the rest by basically exploding all of the cores in range in one go, and if his ears weren't blocked right now Alhaitham knows he would not like the resulting noise such a level of explosion would've created.

At least he doesn't have to deal with that, and as the dust settles Alhaitham looks to see if they've all been cleared, or if there are any that have managed to escape that blast. While initially it seems like all is clear, as Alhaitham does a second sweep he sees a bit of unnatural bubbling happening near where Kaveh is, which immediately puts him on high alert.

Since both of their ears are currently blocked there is no use in shouting a warning, so Alhaitham simply leaps into action. He runs forward, then flickers the moment he's able to use it again, appearing right beside Kaveh just in time as a lingering mermaid bursts out of the water, screaming out in frenzy as it swipes blindly with its clawed hands.

Already having anticipated its arrival, Alhaitham quickly takes it out with one strike of his sword right through the neck, beheading it cleanly—but the close quarters means he's unable to avoid its flailing claws, and he winces as he feels several of them manage to scratch into arm in a way that is sure to sting and leave a mark later.]

Ah, shit--!

[Kaveh screeches a bit with the shock, but there's other problems now, namely that Alhaitham is bleeding and he needs to check to make sure there aren't anymore mermaids. Mehrak scans the Area, and after a moment of silence...Kaveh sighs and his shoulders slump. Looks like they're clear, which just leaves the pressing problem.

He taps at Alhaitham's shoulder, a gently staccato, not willing to take out the earplugs until they're back on the ship home.]

Need you to trust me.

[Which is an odd thing to say, particularly when Kaveh then wades into ankle deep water and forces a plant to grow up out of it, creating more bloom cores...all of them that rich, golden color this time. He's....he's picked one up? Oh god.]

[Even after having taken out that last mermaid Alhaitham maintains his caution, keeping himself alert and wary just in case there are anymore... but Mehrak indicates that they are in the clear, and so he allows himself to relax.

...that, however, does mean that the adrenaline is now fading, which in turn allows the pain from the injury to come in full force. Alhaitham grimaces as he studies the wound the best he can—the scratches have very much drawn blood, and the claws have definitely dealt some damage from the way his arm hurts when he moves it, but overall it doesn't seem to be anything too bad. He'll have to go to a medical center once they're back but other than that—

He's interrupted by Kaveh's tapping at his shoulder, a steady beat that quickly translates in his mind, and Alhaitham blinks at the words, not at all sure why they are necessary. He has always trusted Kaveh, after all, so why would he feel a need to—

—ah.

Alhaitham watches as Kaveh produces several more Dendro Cores, except they're golden instead of green, and though Alhaitham does trust his senior he still can't help but eye the one in Kaveh's hand with what he feels is a reasonable amount of wariness as his senior approaches him with it.]

If this doesn't go well you'll be doing chores for a week.

[He's spooked enough that he says it out loud instead of saying it through their taps, but considering how they're currently each other it'd be easy enough for Kaveh to pick on what he's saying.]

[Kaveh grimaces, but he doesn't really argue with that, either, just gently holds up the single core to Alhaitham's arm and, after a deep breath, crushes it in his hand.

It pops much the same as a bloom core, with the same chiming sound, but instead of deep elemental damage...it knits the wound closed, staunching the bleeding much the same way it would for Kaveh.

He stands there for a minute, staring at the now-healed space on Alhaitham's arm. He didn't doubt this growth in his powers, but there's not doubting it and then there's seeing it work.

And it worked.

He healed him.]

Oh...

[Kaveh may be having more emotions than is appropriate on a sandbar.]

[Alhaitham likewise also braces himself for whatever happens next, be it good or bad. Again he doesn't distrust Kaveh but it is very hard to not be wary, given his experiences with the cores. If whatever Kaveh is trying to do doesn't end well...

He holds his breath as Kaveh's hand twitches, crushing the core in his hand, but where Alhaitham had expected the pain what he gets instead is a warm, soothing sensation, not unlike what he feels when a Vision holder with healing abilities uses it on him. The fact that he's feeling it now is, well... certainly a bit of a surprise, to put it mildly, and it shows just as much on his face as he watches the way the wound mends itself before his eyes.

Kaveh, too, seems just as surprised, continuing to stare even after the injury is healed, breathing out a quiet 'oh' as a whole slew of emotions play across his face. Alhaitham doesn't really understand the breath and depth of what Kaveh is experiencing now, but...]

Let's go back. [He reaches over with his other hand and taps out the message against Kaveh's wrist—it does require a bit of a stretch, but he manages it. Whatever Kaveh is experiencing now, Alhaitham figures it would be better to do so while their ears aren't currently blocked out.]

Ah--!

[He's startled a little out of his thoughts, and stares at Alhaitham for a moment before nodding. He will have to use Mehrak to push the boat back off the sandbar, but luckily it didn't push too far up. He does pause just for a moment, to get the requisite pictures for the bounty...Kaveh feels a little lucky his hands are even steady right now.

It worked. It really worked. His cores...can heal other people.

...Really, it's a good thing Mehrak can do the steering for him, because by the time he sits down, his mind is racing too much to focus.]

[Alhaitham drops his uninjured arm once he sees that Kaveh has gotten his message, waiting patiently until his senior manages to recover enough so that they can go through the steps to wrap this up and then head back.

For the most part everything is more or less alright... at least up until they get close to the boat, where majority of the mermaid zombies had congregated earlier. They're all dead now, taken out by all the Dendro Cores that Kaveh had exploded on them, and now that the adrenaline of the fight has completely faded his senses are picking up on everything else that his mind wasn't focusing on earlier; namely, the absolutely torrid stench that is now coming out from those dead bodies.

Alhaitham immediately makes a face when they get close, shifting his cape wordlessly so that it can cover his face, but the help that it provides is only minimal. Still, even if they technically do have a way to get back from here they do have to return this boat, and seeing as how distracted Kaveh seems to be at the moment Alhaitham is loathe to leave his senior by himself, so he'll just have to endure this. Mehrak, at the very least, lessens the burden of having to deal with the worst of the cleanup, and once the boat is free from any more carcasses they chart their course back to the dock they'd set off from.

Despite being aware of the many thoughts that Kaveh must have on his mind now and has no doubt that he desires to share, Alhaitham can't bring himself to say anything as the boat speeds across the waters. With the wind and the sea breeze whipping at them it does take most of the stench away... but there's still enough of it to linger, and that combined with the sea travel means that Alhaitham is trying very, very hard keep himself together, as evidenced by his less than stellar complexion and tightly knitted expression.]

[It's not that the smell doesn't bother Kaveh--it's awful--but, well. While nothing he works with as an architect is as bad as rotting fish, he's smelled some pretty bad things, and that's not even getting into the time he spent homeless. He had to not be glued to Lambad's corner booth ALL the time if he was going to hide it.

So maybe he doesn't quite realize how bad it's going to be for Alhaitham until he pulls his earplugs out and tucks them away and looks up, to see the man is practically turning green.]

Alhaitham--oh.

[Oh no.]

[Oh indeed. And to Alhaitham's credit, he really does try very hard to keep it together, telling himself to hold it in until they get back to shore and he can get to somewhere more discreet to deal with this.

He should have however known better at this point, after his previous few instances, that the more he tries to not do something the more his body rebels against the idea, and so despite being fairly close to the dock, Alhaitham can no longer keep it in and has to turn, just barely managing to lean over the edge of the boat before he starts throwing up the (by now half-digested) contents of the meal they had before setting off for this job.]

[Kaveh grimaces a bit, but doesn't say a word, simply reaching out to rub a hand down Alhaitham's back as they pull close to the dock. Alhaitham will move when he's good and ready, and there's nothing, they've found, that will help but getting him back on dry ground.

Really, of all the places to find out the man not only gets seasick, but pretty severely, too...That's just uncommonly terrible luck.]

We're here. [Kaveh murmurs, though really the fact the boat stopped moving and Mehrak has floated over to beep in concern should make that obvious already.]

[Given how long Alhaitham had been fighting against his seasickness it takes a while for the worst of it to pass, and by the time his stomach finally settles Alhaitham is left gasping, limbs trembling with unnatural weakness while his face is flushed is sweat. It's been a while since he'd had a reaction this bad; usually he's able to at least withstand the ride between each of the leviathans, but he supposes that could have only lasted for so long.

With the noise canceling on his ear pieces still on (he'd been too distracted by his growing nausea to turn them off), Alhaitham doesn't hear what Kaveh says, but the hand on his back and the fact that they're not moving any more gives him enough context to figure out what's going on. Alhaitham stares at the water right below him, the strong scent of the salt and sea breeze not helping much in terms of recovery, so he gives himself a second more to recover just enough for him to be able to reach up and deactivate the noise cancellation of his ear pieces with minimal fumbling.]

...ugh. [A groan, one that is nowhere near adequate enough to fully describe how horrible Alhaitham feels right now, but its just about the only sound he can make before he pushes himself away from the edge of the boat with still somewhat shaky limbs.]

Oh, come here, don't try to walk by yourself right now.

[Kaveh huffs a little bit, and immediately moves to support Alhaitham, pulling the man's arm over his shoulders and wrapping his own around Alhaitham's waist to steady him. Truthfully, this is a reverse of their usual situation, but Kaveh's sober and not seasick, so he'll manage.

He does reassure the fisherman they borrowed the boat from that everything's fine, but he's determined to get them home, so he's not going to stay and chat about it, thank you very much.]

[The fact that Alhaitham doesn't even try to argue at all is fairly indicative of how terrible he feels right now, combined with the fact that he also makes no attempt to resist Kaveh's support. If anything Alhaitham leans into him, the warmth of his senior's body an adequate balm to the nausea that persists, eyes squeezed shut again once more due to how brightly the sun is shining down now as its proving to be a bit too much stimulation for him at the moment.

He says nothing as Kaveh deals with the fisherman, simply focusing on keeping his breaths even and his steps steady as they make their way back to their house, doing his best to not lean too much into Kaveh while doing so. He still doesn't feel great, but the fact that they're back on solid ground and the scent of the sea is no longer as strong is helping immensely.]

[Kaveh doesn't say much on the way home, because really, as much as he could fill the space with words, it's not fun nattering at a man too sick to fire back. So he just focuses on getting them home, grateful Mehrak can open the front door for him, and after a moment of thought, shuffles Alhaitham right to bed, figuring even once his stomach calms he may well just take a nap through the worst of it.]

Sit down. Can you get your boots off yourself, you think?

[Alhaitham has no qualms with bring brought over to bed as soon as they get back, even letting out a quiet sigh of relief when he realizes where Kaveh is setting down on.]

Mmn. [He hums an affirmative to that question, pulling away from Kaveh once he's properly sat down in bed in order to get his boots off. He fumbles a little in the process due to his still present nausea, but manages to get them off eventually, though putting them aside properly is another issue entirely. He's just going to let Kaveh handle that.

Once that's done Alhaitham moves to shrug out of his cape next, followed by getting his ear pieces off, then places them all aside for Kaveh to deal with as well before shifting just enough to lie down on his side.]

[Kaveh snorts a little at how many things he's being left to deal with, but frankly, if Alhaitham is sick enough to leave the earpieces so someone else, he's sick enough for Kaveh to let this slide. So he sets the earpieces carefully on the side table where they live, and then gathers up the cloak and shoes.]

Do you want any tea, while I'm putting these away?

[He'll be back shortly either way, but unless he misses his guess, someone is about to be very clingy, so being transparent about the options and actions might help a little.]

now everyone will be in the finding out stage

too busy being a sad wet cat of a man to be bothered

it's okay...kaveh's here....

pet him senior... comfort him...

why...didn't this comment post....

evil... preventing the gays...

homophobic chrome...

so rude... the rudest...

you can't stop the battle couple...

the dendro battle duo of destiny

alright now hold still for the healing grenade.

fellas is it gay to let yourself be dendro bomb'd by your roommate-slash-fwb

verdict: 🏳‍🌈

they gayest 🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈

they're winning at gay

winning so hard

not winning at sea travel tho

can't win at everything sadly (cw: emeto)

pat pat

u_u comfort him senior...

He's gonna, but they gotta get home.

home where he can be a sad wet cat of a man

the saddest wettest cat

he's too cool, needed a debuff somewhere

it's okay, rely on your senior...