[EVENT] THE FOG COMES - Ship's Return

[khuimods]

Characters: ALL
Date: July 10
Location: Aifaran Harbour
Situation: The Narrakra has returned, but those aboard are not the same as when they left...
Warnings/Rating: Creepy descriptions of things?


The night of the Narrakra's return, fog poured into Aifaran's harbour. It was thick, soupy and cloying in the summer heat, swirling and shifting with every change in the air, but never dissipating. Many Dreamfolk may feel heavy tension in the air, an eerie stillness about the night that seems unnervingly familiar. But beyond the occasional, inexplicable power outage, nothing seems to be otherwise amiss.

The Narrakra limps into the dockyard port on a single engine in the early hours of the 10th, steering itself erratically toward the nearest berth. The dock workers, having not expected to see a Sentry ship sliding out of the pea-soup fog, are quick to raise the alarm, which is hurriedly passed to a runner to bring to the nearest Sentry outpost. Heavy pylons keep the Narrakra from outright running into the dock itself, as the engine sputters and dies, leaving the ship without steering.

The ship itself is in poor condition, metal hull dented and scarred as if it had been in combat with some great sea beast. Deep gouges, like something had hurled sharp points into the metal sides and pulled, some even deep enough that glimpses of the hull's structural support can be seen. In other places on the exterior, what appears to be an advanced stage of corrosion and rust have affected sections of the ship, but not in any uniform way. A handrail might be corroded to the point of the metal disintegrating at a touch, but the stairwell next to it still gleaming as if it had just been put into place.

---

OOC Notes: This is the culmination event for the Ships in the Night plot that's been ongoing for the last few months, although the outcome will play into future metaplot. Characters can witness the Narrakra's not-so-triumphant return at the docks, speculate on where it's been and what could have caused its disappearance, question the crew (if they can get past the Sentry), or sneak aboard the ship to do some reconnaissance and potentially find things...

Links: OOC Questions | On The Docks | The Survivors | Sneaking Aboard

Comments

The Survivors

[khuimods]

The survivors are, for lack of a stronger term, a bit frazzled. They move slowly though, as if they're uncertain of their surroundings, despite the Sentry's urgent insistence of getting them prompt medical treatment. But their eyes are drawn to the crowd and they spot… you. And there is a moment of recognition.

"I know you," they may exclaim, or possibly utter. "I saw you - through my dreams."

[redlightgreenlight]

As a member of the Sentry, Valdis had an easier time getting in among the survivors. She doesn't really know what Nerrin looks like now, or what he feels like to anyone but himself. He might have died wherever they had been, but the whispers as they recognize other Dreamfolk meant that there had definitely been some connection between them.

"Is Nerrin here?" she asked, "I need to speak with him."

The Pyramid, the roaring, the eyes, the damaged to the ship. Valdis needed to know what else he had seen.

[khuimods]

Sentry though she might be, Valdis is still a Dreamfolk, and a few of her superiors seem like they might decline her request before grudgingly allowing her to where Nerrin is being seen by some medics, sitting on a cot. An older Castian, Nerrin looks practically gaunted by the ordeal. His face is heavily lined, and his grey hair now closer to white. When he looks up at her, his gaze looks haggard and weary. "Who are you?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis' irritation at being blocked, even if only for a few moments, by her superiors doesn't show on her face, but she's not likely to forget anytime soon. She's still unhappy with taking orders from others, but it's not as important as figuring out what happened. Nerrin's face isn't familiar, but his essence is enough for her to recognize him, even as an outsider. He's aged, either from the ordeal, or perhaps some difference in time.

"Nerrin," she said calmly, "My name is Valdis, I...know of you from the Dreaming."

What to even ask?

"How much time has passed for you?"

[khuimods]

Vague recognition begins to show on his craggy features, though it's still blunted by fatigue. "Yes... I did see your face. Forgive me, it was so long ago..."

He considered her question for a moment, letting the medics insert an IV to his arm and attach a clear bag. "You're dehydrated," the medic said matter-of-factly. "Don't push yourself."

Nerrin nodded slowly before turning back to Valdis. "I don't know exactly," he admitted. "Years. Time hasn't seemed to be... regular."

[ilda]

Ilda comes running to the harbour, having bolted the moment she found out about the Narrakra's return. She’s hardly looking her best, but she figures there are far more important things than her appearance.

“Faias? Faias? Are you here?” she calls out, straining her voice so she can be heard over the noise of the gathering crowd. “Faias!”

[khuimods]

Faias is being tended to by the medics, two of which are tending to his leg, but Ilda's loud calling for him gets his attention. He looks exhausted, as if being put through a physical wringer as much as a mental and emotional one, like something important has been ripped out.

"Oh... it's you..."

[ilda]

Ilda sees Faias, and she’s surprised by the look of recognition on his face. So he’s seen her, too, somehow? The visions aren’t one-way?

But that concerns her only for a moment. More pressing is his overall state, and how it’s tugging at her heartstrings. She can almost feel his emotional and mental exhaustion, as if it’s her own.

She tries to make her way through the crowd, but everyone seems to want to talk to the survivors, to squeeze the juicy details of the mysterious happenings from out of them. Some sort of desperation begins to get to her; she has to reach him. “Excuse me... excuse me... please, I have to get through... I need to see Faias...” But nobody’s willing to give way, nobody wants to give her any space—

”Please let me through!”

Nothing happens for a moment. Then, with distant looks on their faces, some people step aside to make way for her.

She rushes through without second thought, and, with no sense of decorum or personal space whatsoever, she hugs Faias like a long-lost brother. “You’re alive,” she says, crying.

[khuimods]

Whatever Faias had intended to say is swallowed up by a faint yelp as Ilda enfolds him into a sweeping hug. Under his panther-patterned fur, his face heats up immediately. "U-Um... there, there... it's, uh, okay..." he tries, patting her back.

(closed to Devin)

[afoolsgold]

"I know you. I saw you--through my dreams."

That is not a phrase that the Fool is accustomed to being on the receiving end of, though it does not fluster him as it once might have.

He stands on the outskirts of the crowd of onlookers, but it seems that whatever his connection is to Eitria, they are bound by fate to find each other. When their eyes meet, he knows her immediately, and quickly pushes his way through the crowd towards her.

"Yes," he tells her earnestly as soon as he is near enough to her that he doesn't have to yell to be heard. "I saw you, as well." As discreetly as he can manage it, he looks her over for signs of... well, anything that stands out, really.

[annihilist]

Devin had debated about coming out to greet the Narrakra, but like many of the Dreamfolk that had experienced visions was too interested in solving this riddle to set it aside. He arrives not long after the Fool and follows after him when he pushes through the crowd to get to the front. Something has clearly drawn his attention.

He catches what the Fool says and deduces what Eitria must have told him from that 'as well'. "The connection went both ways." He sounds moderately surprised by this. "Did your entire crew have dreams of us, or just a handful?"

They may not get much time before the Sentry whisks their comrades away, or else he might be less brusque with his questions.

[khuimods]

Eitria is surprised that the Fool recognizes her in return. Devin's arrival has her likewise uncertain, but she does try to answer the questions. Like the other survivors being taken off the ship, she is prematurely aged, both by time and by the ordeal.

"I think it was everyone," she answered slowly, "but we were all separated not long after we ended up on the island."

[afoolsgold]

To see her so changed by time, when so little time has actually passed them by, tugs at the Fool's heart. He and this woman may not know each other beyond their visions of each other's lives, but that is enough to draw real empathy from him, at least.

Devin's arrival causes him to start some, but he adapts quickly and turns his eyes back to Eitria. "The island," he repeats, bewildered, then presses, "do you know who separated you from your companions?" It is indeed only a matter of time before the Sentry swoop in to escort her away, and there are still so many questions he needs to ask.

[corundrum]

Padparadscha is largely unconcerned about the wall of officers between them and the survivors to start with. They're primarily here to see if Faias made it out alive. But when one of the survivors shows that spark of recognition, it's difficult to turn down the quiet connection between them.

Padparadscha first pushes free of the crowd towards the back, allowing themselves a good distance from the pod of people pushing to see the survivors. It's all the space they need for a short run-up, and when they leap from the ground just short of the crowd, the height with which they leap easily carries them over both the gathered people and the wall of Sentry, landing comfortably on the dock.

Any reactions that might receive go ignored for now, their focus on the specific person who had identified them.

"Are you Faias, little one?" they ask, eyes on the survivor. Their tone isn't exactly concerned, but there is a certain curiosity there.

[khuimods]

Faias is young enough that he doesn't really blink at being addressed in a manner. His features vaguely resemble that of a panther, his ears drooping with exhaustion. "Yeah... that's me..."

[corundrum]

Padparadscha isn't familiar enough with panthers or cats in general to make the connection, but considering their discussion with his aunt, they at least know what he is in terms of the beings in this city.

"Your 'aunt' was asking after you. I found myself wondering whether you would make it back," they admit, glancing back towards the crowd. Living things don't so much have the luxury of being repaired the way their own kind does. "Is there much you remember?"

[khuimods]

"Aunt Tiaghae?" Faias repeated. "Yeah... someone said she was here..."

He fixes Padparadscha with a faintly puzzled look at their question. "I remember... most all of it," he answered. "That's not the problem, it's just... I wasn't sure what was real. I'm still not. Am I really here or is this another hallucination?"

[eyeinfusion]

Judai can admit to himself that he was searching for Nerrin, too, as soon as he'd heard that a ship with the name Narrakra had come drifting into the harbor. Being recognized himself, though...is a...surprise.

"Uh. You should see a doctor..."

First things first, after all. If anyone died here, that would just be unfair. "I—that is, I can help you there." He offers an arm.

[khuimods]

Nerrin offers him a haggard smile, accepting the arm and leaning heavily into Judai's aid. "Thank you," he responds, and his voice is gravelly, so he clears it. "I feel like... I didn't know you before, did I?"

[eyeinfusion]

"I'm pretty sure we didn't," Judai answers somewhat uneasily. Once, he'd forgotten about someone who certainly had not forgotten about him... But this is a completely new dimension to Judai, and it's happened to other Dreamfolk, too.

In any case, he takes a quick glance around to confirm where the medical people are, and starts to lead Nerrin there.

"I saw you...with the oily shadows, and the jungle and the desert, and the roaring sound... Glad to see you're...alright." In a manner of speaking. But alive, at least.

He pauses before he speaks again. "...What did you see?" About Judai, he means.

[khuimods]

"Alright..." Nerrin echoes with a dry chuckle. He hasn't been 'alright' in a while.

"You know what I saw," he said, looking out over the medical crew. "On the nights... well, I don't know if they were nights really. Time didn't work quite right, but when I dreamt through your eyes, through the other Dreamfolk... it kept me sane."

[ninjainviolet]

This ship is in, people are disembarking, and one lone ninja is watching all of the activity from a distance that isn't exactly safe, but also isn't putting her in the way.

Her gaze roams over the crowd intently, seeking--though, she's not exactly sure what she's looking for. A familiar face? Voice? She doesn't know.

Until she hears a voice coming from behind her.

She turns slowly, her eyes wide and concerned at the same time.

"Al'amar?" she asks cautiously.

[khuimods]

"...She-ena...?" The name is awkward on her tongue. She didn't dare speak the names of those she'd dreamed through lest she lose that last connection to home that felt like another world.

And now she was face to face with one of them.

She approaches slowly, cautiously, as if this might be a trick, a trap, not something really happening.

"It's you right?"

[ninjainviolet]

The pronunciation is off, but it's definitely her name, and that's all the proof Sheena needs that this is Al'amar. She has dozens of questions for her--the top one being "how" followed by "why". But, she can't bombard her with them--not after what she's been through, but what should she say? She won't hurt her? Or she's safe at home now?

The words freeze on the ninja's tongue as the woman approaches, her wariness almost palpable.

Reeling in her curiosity, Sheena nods and offers a friendly smile.

"Yes, it's me. I'm Sheena. Sheena Fujibayashi."

[khuimods]

Sheena's scaled back approach is a good one, and Al'amar doesn't... exactly relax, but at least looks less like she's ready to bolt at the first loud noise. It's a stark difference from the woman witnessed in the visions.

"I couldn't be sure you were real," she admits. "Or that you'd still have been here by the time we got back, not all Dreamfolk stay around for so many years."