« january 2025: desert and ice »

[seaboards]

This is our Open Log for players to have an easy opportunity to tag others and have fun with prompts that deal with current happenings that are not covered by our MANTA Board quests. Sometimes we provide extra quests at the bottom, but oftentimes we just let the MANTA Board cover it. Players are free to include MANTA Board quests in their toplevels!

All prompts are worth 6 points!

For your toplevel, please include the following: Character Name | Canon | Armada.

TOPLEVEL DIRECTORY (Updated Month ##)

Canon - Character | Corsair/Paladin/Undecided
Canon - Character | Corsair/Paladin/Undecided

Some notes that will apply to both sections and can be used for prompts.

» Limited areas. As a precaution, the expedition area will be limited as researchers do not know why these gateways exist or what association these lands may have to the Ancient Leviathans. There is not much recorded about them and scholars are still scouring all libraries and the Archives to try and pull out as much as possible, be it fact or fiction. They can only hope these expeditions and future ruins investigations will shed more light. Due to the unknown location, birds will be released from both locations to fly back to hopefully chart out the coordinates. Should the gateways suddenly not work and the people are left stranded, they need to quickly be able to find them.

» Armada crossover and conflict. Although each Armada is in control of one side, there is a general allowance of members of the opposite to travel to the other. Thus a Paladin could travel to the desert side and a Corsair to the tundra. However, there is still suspicion and depending on who is on sentry duty, someone may be refused entry or have to go through some challenge before allowing in or to do much. Even once in the other area, tension will be high and everyone of an opposing Armada is regarded with suspicion. It doesn't help that members of both sides will have acts of sabotage, either through theft or trying to frame the other for some mishap or crime.

» Shellphone malfunction. For some reason, shellphones won't connect well in these areas. Other functions are available such as camera and video recording, but sending messages or calls, even to those in the same area, is impossible.

» Protect the gateways. Once on the other side, there will be groups assigned to protect the gateway since it's currently their only way back. There may be monsters, saboteurs, or even something malfunctioning with the gate itself that may require some repair or item needed.

The expeditions will continue throughout the rest of the month.

DESERT

TUNDRA

COMMENTS

SARHT'S DESERT

Temporarily called "Sarht's Desert," the Corsairs have finished their preliminary scouting and are now going all in to explore the mysterious region. For better or worse, there is only a limited range explorers can traverse through—from the gateway that is set just outside of the large oasis that is currently being stationed as a base camp to the tall, steep cliff walls that is actually remnants of a coliseum that curves around in a large half circle in the distance. And all around is sand, sand, and more sand. There would be even more sand to try and travel through were it not for the desert winds kick up an ferocious sandstorm that creates something of a barrier that prevents anyone from going further. Anyone who tries will suddenly find themselves in the middle of the coliseum arena.

Scattered all throughout the desert area are dragon scales that shimmer in the light. Some are a deep rich golden color, but some are cracked and dull. Touching one will cause a brief vision to flicker through one's mind, and what it is may depend on the type of scale found. Search high and low for these scales as they are clearly important to collect for research. Some harder to reach places would be deep within the oasis and on the high cliff walls. (Remember to comment HERE for information. Only one vision will occur per scale, thus anyone will be able to see the same vision.)

🏕️ Base camp. Several tents are assembled for people to use for research, eating, healing, and even sleeping if one should choose. Just be careful as there can be snakes and scorpions that may find the cooler areas tempting. The water here is also clear and drinkable, and the coconuts and cactus around the area are also good sources of refreshing treats.

🌊 Oasis springs. Beyond the central oasis, there are various different small pools of water that can be found throughout it. The pools are rare but are small oases that can be life-saving after too many hours in the hot, desert sun. It might be smart to bottle up some water, too.

♨️ Courage pool. Some of the water pools inside the oases look like they’re boiling. The water is so hot that it steams and bubbles rapidly. Yet, something about the pools make anyone nearby want to get closer. For the brave, test your courage against the heat by having an entire bath in it. The water might make you want to tell your bravest dreams or deepest desires.

😰 Fear pool. Alternatively, there are pools of water that look strangely cold even under the sun’s direct sunlight and heat. These pools also draw travellers in and if anyone soaks their bodies in the cool, refreshing water they might be tempted to blurt out their deepest fears or insecurities.

While it is possible to walk the distance between the oasis and the cliffs, it would take at least an hour under the relentless sun, heat, and wind. Heatstroke is a high risk as well, and the temperatures at night drop to frigid temperatures. It's doable with proper preparation, but perhaps more innovative explorers could engineer something to travel over the sandy dunes. Alternatively, there are a few wild camels wandering around, particularly near the oasis. Their temperaments range from friendly to aggressive, and all need a lot of persuasion food to allow anyone on their backs and ride.

🦖 Dino dig. Some peculiar spots of sand and rock look like they might be hiding some hidden treasure, like giant old bones (or relics? trash?). Because of this, there has been a group of corsairs here who have been charging others just to go digging. You have to buy one of their special tools to go digging as well, so pick your item. A plastic spoon, a wooden spoon or a silver spoon. That’s all you can dig with!

🍊 Orange joe. Somewhere deep in the desert, a bizarre giant orange can be found. It’s unclear how it survives out here but it’s a sight to see. It’s probably pretty dang juicy too. Try and bite into it…? Anyone who manages to eat some of the orange will see everything in the colour orange for hours and hours.

🌵 Cactus juice. Anyone can die from dehydration very fast. Luckily, there are a lot of cactus plants growing all over the place and if one is crafty enough they can slice up and drink some cactus juice. Just beware that the juice will more than likely give the drinker some severe and wild hallucinations. Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier. It's the quenchiest!

🗿 Rolling stones. The desert is littered with large boulders and stones that could shift or move at any given second. Stones might unexpectedly start to roll away or towards you. If they do, watch out not to get rolled over by them or get completely smashed flat.

⏳ Bottled sand. Some of the desert sand here has peculiar properties. There isn’t much known about what kind of benefits the sand can provide, but try bottling up some of the sand for testing and use. Just don’t burn your fingers while handling it.

🦂 Desert beasts. The desert hides many different beasts and creatures. Look out for gargoyles with fiery wings and tails, three-headed cobras, trampling wild horses, massive underground lizards, choya, and various poisonous bugs and insects. One of the most dangerous being giant hidden antlions that can detect your footsteps and will chomp down on you the moment you step over their sand trap.

Although in ruins, the remnants of the coliseum boasts its large size, enough to fit thousands if not more people in the crumbling stands and arena. There are large cracks, gashes, and even dark stains and chips of bone, steel, and leather all over the rock walls, proof of the grisly matches that once rang through the area. Further exploration will reveal several underground tunnels, passageways, chambers, and cells, all used for participants of the coliseum. The cells in particular vary from small to large, likely to accommodate the different beasts that once contained them. Take care traveling through, however. Some may hear the pained shouts, the angry yells, and fierce whispers of those who once fought through here…

Perhaps some still remain.

The following prompts occur within the arena only. The moment any of these trigger, all doors and openings will close, and a strange translucent barrier will form over the top. Those who happen to be in the arena at the time will also have to face whatever is triggered, and those outside of the arena can only spectate or try to get inside. However, once in, no one can leave until the "fight" is over.

🤺 Duels and Beasts. Simple duels and fights either against each other or against some of the desert beasts that suddenly appear. While the beasts must either be tamed or killed to remove the barriers, one-on-one fights are not to the death and just need a victor.

👤 Face One's Fears. Without warning, a figure will appear in front of a passing explorer, its form shadowy and shifting as if made of sand. Until slowly it solidifies and now the person it faces takes on the form of their worst fear. It could be a person, a creature, or a personification of an abstract fear or place. But it is something that will be visible to others. It's also possible multiple of these can appear at once.

⚔️ Enchanted weapons. There are two scenarios for this. The first is the weapons scattered or hidden around the arena will suddenly rise up and fly towards those within the arena, but not to attack—they settle into their hands and now their wielders are forced to fight one another, unable to stop until one remains standing as the victor. The other is the weapons fight each other without any wielder, as if ghosts are moving them instead. While it can be an interesting show, it can also be dangerous as the weapons show no regard to anyone inside the arena and will even attack if in the way. Either let the weapons fight it out, join in, or destroy them to free everyone.

🐉 Big Bosses. A loud rumbling and sudden rush of heat will fill the arena before something large drops into the arena. One potential beast is the giant Coalborn, a humongous fire elemental that seems to be made of fire itself. The other is a wild fire dragon, its scales hot, and breath hotter. These will appear only once and usually when there is a sizable group. They must either be killed or forced to retreat for the barrier to be removed.

DESERT

TUNDRA

COMMENTS

AINOMIAD'S TUNDRA

The Paladin scouts have finished their preliminary staging for "Ainomiad's Tundra" and it is similar to the desert. The gate opens right in front of a large ice cavern that goes deep into a mountain so tall one cannot see its peak from where they stand. Outside the cavern is a vast, snowy tundra with small pockets of trees nearby. But beyond that is an ice storm so fierce that should one venture too far, they will disappear into the storm and then reappear half frozen somewhere near the cavern. They must be treated quickly!

The Paladins will set up a camp within the small forest next to the ice cavern entrance, but they advise against staying the night due to the harsh subzero temperatures. Large bonfires with additional heating enchantments will help keep the areas warm enough to be somewhat comfortable with the additional three extra layers.

Buried in the ice cavern walls are pink crystals that range from deep rose to dull pink. Some are easy to pluck out while others can be seen buried deep within the ice. Take care trying to excavate them and not crack the entire wall. Touching one will cause a brief vision to flicker through one's mind, and what it is may depend on the type of crystal found. Search high and low for these crystals as they are clearly important to collect for research. (Remember to comment HERE for information. Only one vision will occur per crystal, thus anyone will be able to see the same vision.)

🌲 Face trees. Deep in the tundra, some peculiar trees with faces etched into the trunks can be found. These tree faces are mostly sad, with some of them even crying red sap from their orifices. Getting closer to them will compel anyone to give in to a sad memory or something that brought them great despair.

🌰 Chestnuts. The face trees also drop hordes of round chestnuts. These chestnuts are warm to the touch and will bring back feelings of joy and memories of when things were good. Holding them will bring these feelings up momentarily but roasting and eating the chestnuts will make them a perfect edible to instantly bring feelings of long-lasting joy.

🐇 Snow bunnies. The tundra is littered with white snow bunnies. They’re cute and fluffy and extremely carnivorous. They run around and hunt in packs, looking for easy prey to take down and eat. They appear to be an alpha species here and will eat just about anything that’s made of meat. They are especially dangerous and cannot be befriended.

🦌 Tundra beasts. The tundra is home to several snow-adapted creatures such as bloody thirsty deer with ice for antlers, wild cats with teeth like daggers, flying owls with piercing ice-blue eyes, penguins with razor sharp beaks, and hungry bears with massive claws. Even spectacular giant mammoths roam the tundra. Be careful, most will kill at the first sense of danger.

Traversing through the ice cavern must be done carefully and with full preparation because if one stays inside too long, they may start to suffer frostbite and even freeze up completely. Special coats provided by the Paladins have increased heat insulation and special torches will also be given to help traverse through the ice caverns, the flames made to last for several hours. Those who can use fire magic will be able to "recharge" them, otherwise a match, flint, or some other spark will do. The torches can also help to melt the crystal ice walls. Small round fairy-like puffs of heat called warming seelies can also be found hiding all around the tundra. They are not sentient and are only balls of heat energy that will keep one warm for a small period of time before it vanishes.

🐺 Snow wolves. These white wolves are big footed and fast and are entirely herbivorous. They like to eat snow flowers and have a taste for frostfire peppers. They tend to be skittish and are extremely hard to find and will run and hide at the first snap of danger. They seem to be prey animals so they don’t trust easily. Yet, they will guide lost travellers through the ice caverns if their trust can be won, drawn to particularly happy people. Saving their pups from being preyed upon by the rabbits will also earn favor. But they will refuse to leave the tundra or caverns for any reason.

🌱 Screaming radishes. It’s difficult to find food in the ice caverns so hopefully everyone packed food before they travelled this way. If not, there are small sprouts of green leaves that can be periodically found in the cavern. Pulling up the sprouts will reveal juicy and thick radishes that can be eaten safely. They just scream very loud when they are yanked from the ice.

🧟 Frozen corpses. It’s rare, yet lost travellers can be found frozen and dead scattered throughout the caverns. They must have died while trying to explore the caverns themselves. Take their supplies if it’s needed but be careful. Sometimes the corpses can blink their icy eyes and come back to “life” and attack with shambling frozen bodies and sharp, hungry mouths.

👤 Shadows in ice. In addition to the corpses, shadowy figures can be seen frozen within the ice walls. Some even seem to move… A wise choice would be to leave them be, but others may feel compelled to try and free them. Perhaps the figure they see reflects a lost loved one…? Regardless, it would be better to try and stop the excavation, but if someone succeeds, that figure will try to drag them into the ice, the walls quickly reforming around them to seal them in.

🧊 Lost reflections. The ice walls can be thick and rocky, but there are some places that seem clear as crystal, enough to show one's reflection like glass. Sometimes these walls may also reflect one a certain time in their life. It could be of their greatest joy or of their worst moment in grief. It's a reflection that can be seen by others so awkward conversations may ensue…if a conversation can be made. If the reflection is strong enough, it may cause the individual to remain frozen in place, perhaps overwhelmed by the emotion. If they stay too long, ice will start to creep up around their feet to slowly freeze them in place and the ice wall seems to be coming closer… Help break people out of their frozen stupor! Fire is very effective.

Deep within the ice cavern, one of the tunnels will lead to a large lake that transitions between water and frozen crystal intermittently. In the center of the lake there looks to be some kind of small island with a singular structure on it…a shrine perhaps? From the shrine mist begins to form and a gentle spirit appears to greet and inform everyone that they are at the heart of the caverns, a place for reflection and prayer. However, the spirit seems to be weak and will not be able to answer questions.

🏛️ Crystal shrine. For those who somehow manage to traverse over the lake, at the center is a small island large enough to fit up to ten people. There is a large crystal orchid in the center, the ground completely frozen with withered flowers that must have been used as offerings back in the ancient past. A lot of the mysterious crystals can be harvested here, but they seem to be all a dark pink.

🥶 Thawed. Should anyone have suffered frostbite or the attacks in the caves that risk them turning into frozen statues, they can be lowered into the lake to be thawed and completely healed. It's a bit of a slow process, but even any injuries or ice burns incurred will be healed enough and be treated further back outside. However, if one stays too long in the water or falls in without being frozen first, then the water will begin freeze them instead. So people will need to be quick to retrieve the victim.

⛸️ Ice dancing. Dancing and flying around the lake are strange little sprites that beckon people to join them on the lake's surface. Of course that's a dangerous proposition as the surface changes between solid and not, but should they be compelled to do so, the ice sprites will help and keep patches frozen until they start to change color, warning that it's about to melt. Once on the iced crystal, people will find themselves dancing and singing with joy, moving freely about with a lighter heart than they have felt in ages.

❄️ In remembrance. The shrine spirit will encourage those who may have experienced loss or grief to collect special snowflake crystals found on the walls around the lake. With these special crystals, one can channel those thoughts and emotions and it will turn the crystal into a dark blue. Releasing it into the lake when the surface is water will cause the snowflake to slowly sink and disappear into the water. At the same time, a cool, refreshing wind will pass through that will make the individual remember the joys and good times that may have been overshadowed by the more painful emotions.

DESERT

TUNDRA

COMMENTS

Comments

B

[sos_pilot]

Need a minute. Need all the minutes.

[ Heat with that giant black cloak? Not great. Heat when your entire body is covered in feathers? Also not great.

Della's taken a break from digging to just... lay there, wiping her face with the back of her arm, idly poking the ground with her spoon. Juice, plz? ]

B!

[emberized]

"Yeah, yeah." [Axel gripes, in response. To what, he doesn't know, he could barely spare his attention on anything that isn't the heat or his faux misery. Honestly he's somewhat grateful Della is sharing his sentiments. It's no suprise that Stormbringer paired them together, given that they shared their time of recruitment; the Nobody just doesn't have it in him to try that hard today.]

"Sooner we find something, the sooner we can leave."

[He slings the bag of beverages on his shoulder and makes his way over to where his colleague lay, sliding down a hill of sand to reach her.]

"Thought you said you were into this kinda thing. Treasure hunting.." [He aimlessly gestures, bottle in hand, not even bothering to finish whatever his second point would be.

Were the marks on his face actual makeup, this would be the point where it started running.]

[sos_pilot]

Well, first off, I do it with my whole family, so they'd be extra super prepared. Second, we'd have ACTUAL DIGGING TOOLS, not spoons. And third... shut up.

[ Mature ass woman. She definitely sticks her spoon in the sand a few times. ]

Apologies on the wait, I can focus on this thread now if ya still want it!

[emberized]

"Can't argue there." [Axel huffs with the barest of smirks. He shakes some of the sand out of his hair-- a futile effort-- before holding the bag out for Della to grab from and setting it down onto the hill of sand after.

Actually she has the right idea. Not even looking at the bottle he was already holding, Axel doesn't hesitate to chug several greedy gulps. Hey-- if they're forcing them through this misery they can pick up whatever tab they accrue if they need more!]

"I mean at this point I'd even use my chakrum to.."

[Axel blinks as a wave of something hits. And he turns to blearily blink at the bottle label.]

"Huh.. S'this expired?"

[Why else is his vision starting to...?]

[sos_pilot]

[ Della moves to take the bottle, pop it open, and...

pauses, when sees Axel's reaction.

Oh boy. ]

... Youuuu doin' okay there, pal?

[emberized]

"Yeah!.. Yeah." [A quick shake of the head, blinking a few times to try and regain some clarity. He props his arm against the hill of sand, using it to keep upright for a moment.]

"Just not what I expected" [A squint.] "Cactus to taste like."

[Well. That's not enough to stop him from going for another swig.]

[sos_pilot]

... Bunch of red flags there, but right now, wayyy too thirsty to care.

[ chug! chug! chug! ]

[emberized]

[Chug! Chug! Chug!

Oh yeah. This? This right here is why they worked well together. Maybe they could be a bit chaotic on their own, but take two chaotic winds together and you still form or a storm and a storm always uh.. a storm.. something something-- Okay keeping track of analogies is admittedly a lot harder to do under the influence. And dimly Axel recognizes that's surely what this is. An intoxicant of some kind. The assassin may be no lush but you don't spend your formative years in a building with ten other emotionally stunted men and not learn the concept of booze.

Axel can't find it in him to care. This is way better than digging. And if the two of them polish off more than one bottle, he's not being paid to keep track.]

"Yeah. This has discount moogle bargain all over it."

[Yet he's still... drinking more.]

"At the Organization. They were always hawking expired wares for the profit. But when ya need'n elixer, you need'n rlixer, ya know?"

[sos_pilot]

[ Della smacks her lips a bit. ]

No idea what several of those words meant.

... Also, pretty sure we just got hammered.

[ Thanks to certain imps here, she's found herself familiar with booze before, after a ten year long clean streak she didn't have a choice about. But, phewwww, this is... STRONG STUFF. Her eyes are already swimming, and she tilts her head left and right. ]

HmmmmMMMMMMmmmMMMMm... noooo warning labels on that bottle, huh?

[emberized]

"See'fer yerself." [Axel holds the bottle out for her unceremoniously. Maybe there was writing on the label once, but it was handwritten and has since smudged a bit from the elements-- or maybe it's just that hard for him to read right now-- commonly distributed, this stuff was not.]

"Ya know, Moogles." [He doubts it was 'Organization' or 'Bargain' that has her tongue tied.]

"Heard this place had 'em. Little white guys, bat wings and pompoms?" [Axel presses a knuckle to his forehead, searching the wastes for a comparison.]

"Kinda liiiike... There--!"

[Huh. No way. Way out in the distance, IS that one way out there? The Nobody certainly thinks that's what he sees!]

[sos_pilot]

Ooooh.... ooooh! So that's what the cute widdle things are called! They're so... squishable!

[ She begins trying to wobble onto her feet, swaying back and forth. This... might be stronger than the usual stuff they have in the bars. It's not supposed to work this hard and this fast.

Alas, that rational side of her is being very, very quiet right now. ]

I'mma go hug it! I need the hugs!

[emberized]

[Axel nods affirmatively.]

"More importantly. These'll guys. They're all about profit. If there's wealth to find out here, trust a moogle to find it."

[That's not just an adorable critter, Della, that's also their ticket outta here. He staggers to his feet, mildly suprised when it takes more effort than he expects.]

"And what is it that we're out here looking forrr~?"

[Come on Della, you know the answer. He's ready to trek out across the sands the moment she gives it. FOLLOW THAT MOOGLE if it actually exists]

[sos_pilot]

MOOGLE-WOOGLE-HUGGY-WUUGGY-HUGS!

[ And she begins to... well, she can't run. But some kind of weird, sloppy, lumpy jog sort of thing? ]

[emberized]

"That's right, TREASUUuuuh-- no. Della, that's--" [Axel can't even finish admonishing the duck before she's off like a shot in a.. gallumph? He's pretty sure that's what a gallumph looks like. Either way it is forward motion and he's quick to give chase, thankful that his long gangly legs can catch up with efficiently less strides.

If they were exhausted before, this really isn't helping. Is he even moving in a straight line any more? Everything is spinning. Has the moogle even changed in size since they started approaching?]

"Is. Is it just me, or issit getting even further away?"

[sos_pilot]

Awwwww! Don't go away, Moogle-woogle! I give great hugs!

[ her "run" slows down to a wobbly back-and forth... motion, let's leave it at that. It's as good as it's gunna get at this rate.

Her eyes may start to water. ]

I give great hugs, right, Axel? I do, don't I?

[emberized]

[Yeah, they aren't catching up, Axel drops to his knees, silently willing the desert to stop spinning for a moment.]

"Not sure. Think I mostly get strangleholds from you." [The sandy winds are kicking up ahead, obscuring their barely defined goal even further.]

"Maybe they're right to run."

[sos_pilot]

[ A hurt gasp! Clutch to her chest! ]

Hey! That's not fair! You're freakishly tall! I have to reach and grab!

[emberized]

"I am appropriately tall! S'not my fault the rest of you-'re a buncha shortstacks."

[Not that he looks it, on his knees with his arms pressed over his face.]

"Hngh I thought the headache is supposed t' come least. the day after." [Words. So much. effort.] ".. Do we still have any more to drink?"

[sos_pilot]

I'll show you! My hugs are great when we're the same size!

[ With that, she uses what little strength she has to launch herself at him! Hug time! ]

[emberized]

"What're--" [Is the only bare approximation of a word Axel can get out before he is bodied by several feathered pounds of determined motherly love. He grunts in shock as he is bowled over, the intensity of the fall all the more enhanced from starting it with his eyes closed.]

"All right. All right you're the-- the hug champion."

[He acquiesces, sobering fast. There's no telling how much she can glean being this close to his chest and the Nobody isn't keen to find out. This was careless. He wriggles, trying to wrest his lanky form from her affections, attempting with all his might to embody a dusk.]

"D--" [He manages to get one arm loose, reaching behind him to blindly grasp at the sand, hand sinking deep-- And then suddenly he is somewhere else.

Still in the desert, sure, but with caravans driving past, echoes of an unseen battle heard all around and A GIANT METAL SNAKE erupting into the sky from under their feet.

But time doesn't stop, even when your awareness of the present does, and in Axel's haste to roll the duck off of him before his eyes glazed over, the dragonscale is flung, right near where his companion is liable to touch next...]

[sos_pilot]

[ And by touch, we mean 'smack', because Della is still close enough for the dragonscale to bonk her right in the face.

The good news is that it finally gets her to let go of him!

The bad news is that the drunken half-sobbing mess is suddenly thrust into a weird-ass vision. ]

GAAAHAAAAAWHATISGOINGOOOOOOOOOOOON -

[ She flails all her limbs, hitting the ground, making accidental 'sand angels' as she tries to find any sense of safety or reality. ]

[emberized]

"Do your hugs always summon giant snake armies?!" [Axel yells, over the 'roar of the battlefield.'] "Because you're right, I HAVEN'T experienced that before!"

[Where did the snake go?! Where are the vehicles?! It's so hard to focus on anything but the inherent DANGER and the strong whipping winds making it impossible to see.

The Nobody does the first thing he can think of-- which is to promptly vanish into a cloud of darkness-- before he thinks better of it and comes back. He has a comrade, he can't take Della in there with him. He can't leave her either.

Instead, it's the redhead this time who does the grabbing, as he attempts to scoop the flailing duck up with an arm and leap them both to safety.]

"Come on!"

[The sandstorm is stinging the assassin's eyes, but he can see one thing-- the shadow of some ruins. If they head towards the dilapidated structure, it should block some of the harsher winds at least.]

"This way!" [If he can manage to coax the Corsair along, they can brace themselves against the outer wall and weather the storm there.]

[sos_pilot]

[ Boy, this is sobering in more ways than one! Luckily, as a Disney Duck, Della weighs just about nothing, so she's easily liftable. Nor does she fight the scoop and scurry, as she's just. wayyyyyy too confused. ]

...I'm never drinking anything out of strange bottles again. For today, I'm doing whatever it is you tell me to do, cause right now, I'm not trusting anything I'm seeing!

[emberized]

"Good choice!" [Axel answers, far more confidently than his dizzy and still recovering body should allow.

With Della's cooperation he urges them both to duck under a few chunks of debris, crawling into a small chamber formed from the two stone slabs overlapping eachother.

It's not entirely comfortable, but it's protection from the veritable sand maelstrom they can see through the opening and quieter at least. Somewhere to kick up their legs to wait things out.]

"This should hold."

[He assures, all but smashing his head from the force of his sigh as he leans back to slide against their wall.]

"Heh. Don't know why that stuff matters so much to you; Hugging, festive cheer."

[It seems like the only time Della got riled was over things like that.]

[sos_pilot]

[ Is it the booze making her confess, the confusion, the closeness, or Della just finally ready to admit things? Maybe a combination of all of them, because after a second, she suddenly blurts out - ]

... Because I was alone for ten solid years. No hugs, no festive cheer, nothing and no one to do anything with.