END OF ARC 1: DAY 173 DOWNTIME

[asgardmods]

[Two days of battle have been harsh. The hospital and the Arena are both nearing full, and the smell of charred wood still remains from the few buildings set on fire in Freya district by a dragon on Day 168. Nothing is truly quiet, but this is another welcome break in the violence.

The only question is: how many more cycles can we survive? Though we did well yesterday, it's clear that we'll be wiped out soon if nothing changes.]


[ooc note: this is the catch-all log for Day 173 (Nov 12-13). There is no battle, but there are a lot of general npc wounded of all different species (some of which are outlined here). You can find the battle log for Days 171-172 here, and the shelter log here.

Please be sure to include the day/time of day in the subject line of top-level threads. Also, be sure to have read the entire plot post.

There is a timeline of all important posts in the ooc comm here. If you have plot questions, please submit them to the plot post so everyone else can get the answers. Thank you!]

Comments

Daylight Hours 173

[samantha_grey]

Option A
In the worst of situations, opportunity strikes. Samantha, armed with her kusari-gama, but more importantly a heavy backpack and several satchels, is leaving the gates and sneaking towards the crashed and downed corpse of one of the massive dragons brought low in the fighting. The thing, far too large to be moved while in the middle of the battle, nevertheless remains an impressive obstacle to the fighting, and the sort of thing that most would steer clear of.

The red-head, however, has other plans. As long as she can stay largely out of sight, there's the potential for new weapons. Regardless of whether or not it feels like the world's about to end, she's not the sort to give up, or leave any weapon she can get unused.

Option B
Samantha spends what time she does not spend on scavanging helping out the wounded. The supplies of poultices are growing considerably less at this point, but she still has medical and first aid training to lend to this. The whole situation is taking its toll on her emotionally, but she doesn't want to show it.

Option C
Eventually, everyone must rest. Lunchtime is about the only time that Samantha can be seen 'relaxing.' She's leaned up against one of the columns in the Arena, a sandwich in one hand and a thermos of something that smells god-awful in another. Her tail flops lazily beside her and she looks around for people she knows.

Anything to get her mind off what's going on.

B?

[redpaintednails]

[In the last days, Mariko had learned a little more about her powers and began to use them more actively. The idea of kissing either enemies or men wasn't something she was keen on, but she swallowed her pride and still did it... And as a "prize", she soon found out that after a while, she didn't need to kiss them anymore! Grabbing them by the hand and keeping contact was enough! So much better...

Now she has seen the other woman and is walking towards her, a weak smile on her lips.] Hey, Sam-san. Do you need help with that?

[samantha_grey]

[She looked up as Mariko came closer and nodded, pointing towards one of the bandages, pressing her finger down where the knot was being tied. Her tail let go of the fabric and she grunted.]

Pull until he grunts, but don't wince. Then twist another tie down so it stays firm.

[She was glad for the added help, actually, even if she wasn't very good at showing it. Right about now, she was haggard and had been doing this for hours. Banter would come, but not while there was someone bleeding right then.]

[redpaintednails]

[Mariko herself was learning how to put on a pleasant facade and set her feelings aside when it was needed to work, and while said "techniques" still weren't perfected, she didn't want to be a burden. So she nodded and did as she was told, as carefully as if she was sweing up a dress or a pajama set in home education class, her attention fixed on following Samantha's instructions and not fail even a little bit!]

[samantha_grey]

[Once it was in place, she nodded and motioned for the injured to join the others. Their injuries were bad, but not so much that they couldn't hold out for a while to see if anyone was available to heal them.]

We really need a few transfers like Feferi to form a brigade. Shift power around from people who can spare a little. Heal more. Probably exhaust them though...

You ok?

[redpaintednails]

[She nods again, though it may be easy to see that it's kinda "rehearsed"] It's all right, all's okay! As much as it's possible in these days, I know it's not that much but I like to think that, as long as I can do something, I will manage.

[samantha_grey]

An extra set of hands is appreciated by the people here. Even if we're running out of medical supplies, all the hands we can get means that they're better able to help the wounded.

And... you really don't need to force this for me. Nothing about this is ok.

[redpaintednails]

[She shakes her head and looks pretty determined.] I don't think I can go back, can I? The dragon incident was bad enough already and I had to be saved... I don't want to just do nothing!

[samantha_grey]

Dragons are for teams to take down, using all the artillery they've got with them. Nothing wrong with having to get saved against one of those. It's not like they're little bitty lizards flicking their tongues at you, now is it?

But, trust me, you're helping here.

[redpaintednails]

[She smiles a bit weakly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Some parts of it are still kinda burned, but she hasn't taken time to fix them.] I guess so... I don't like standing aside and needing help. Never did, never will.

[samantha_grey]

You shouldn't. dragons are just... dragons. Big, scaled impenetrable things that eat people, claw down walls and breath fire. Not much to hate yourself for in that.

[redpaintednails]

Good point. [Sigh.] I just cannot stay aside in an enviroment like this. When we're all working hard. Even if it's just a little, I can still help right?

[samantha_grey]

Helping out around here's definitely a good way to do it. Even if you're not a great fighter, they can't fight properly without enough support, trust me. They need that part.

option c!

[expy]

[And, for once since this whole mess started, Eve allows herself to be social enough to stick around in the arena and spot familiar faces. As hectic as everything's been and as much attention as all of this deserves, it probably wouldn't be too good for her complexion if she focused on it from beginning to end.

As such, when she spots Samantha, she'll casually approach her, relatively unharmed thanks to her level of regeneration.]

And here I was, starting to think you died.

[And, yeah. That's how we greet people when hideous things are happening. We become sarcastic sassy butts.]

[samantha_grey]

[Samantha was a bit surprised when she looked up at Eve. The look in her eyes, despite the fact that she knew she could fight and recover from her own wounds, told the story. She'd thought Eve was dead too.

It slipped away and she allowed herself a smug grin. Yeah, that sort of sarcasm was on her good side.]

And here I thought you'd end up on the wrong side of a dragon. Pretty girls are their favorites, I hear, and we haven't killed them all yet.

[expy]

[Naturally, she cocks an eyebrow at that kind of response. If this were anywhere else, she'd say she felt a little bit offended--but as it was, she could understand. Regardless, she ends up rolling her eyes and shrugging her shoulders before responding.]

Oh, please, I've eaten dragon stew for breakfast. They should be more worried about ending up on my bad side.

[Which was... technically true, but the dragons in question here were more along the lines of abnormally large fire breathing lizards and less like what they were up against here.]

[samantha_grey]

[She snorted and grinned at her.]

You have an ego that could dwarf Ahab's, you know that? So, what the hell have you been up to, other than trying to fix dragon soup.

...

Oh, and don't actually try to eat it. Their blood's acidic.

[Yes, she'd managed to figure that out herself somehow. That was probably a little worrying in and of itself.]

[expy]

Aw, but the acid's what gives the dish its kick. [Kidding, obviously, but she says it in a way that implies she's thoroughly serious. Either way, she cocks her head to the side slightly, thinking nothing of it, before answering.]

Well, y'know. I've been around. Killing things, taking their equipment, trying not to die... [Trailing off with an exaggerated shrug.] The usual.

[samantha_grey]

Well, you're obviously successful on at least one end of that. I'm betting you've probably done pretty good on the other.

[She snorted and curled an arm around her leg.]

Got through the new moon ok. Been fighting a lot more since. Some tea I've been working on to control 'her' seems to be working for the most part. Conan and crew still got me locked up all the same.

[zodiacal]

...So the moon theory turned out to be right. [And, she'll be absentmindedly placing a hand on her chin, making note of that. If this was something they had a chance of getting under control now, it was definitely a thing to be glad for.]

Sorry I had to miss out on locking you up, then. I might have gotten a little sidetracked by the invasion and all.

["Little" as in as in she was heading out immediately after Thor's post, pls..........]

[samantha_grey]

Don't worry about it. We had enough insanity as it stands. I stayed where people could find me, and they had me in the graveyard. We had to improvise apparently. At least the tea worked too. It tastes terrible, but I'm going to keep taking it.

[She smirked over at her and chuckled, shrugging.]

Even if it keeps working though, I want to be locked up for a few months, just in case.

[zodiacal]

Fair enough. [Lazily, but her tone more or less implies that she's going to make sure she goes through with that. Better safe than sorry, after all.]

Do I want to ask what's in that tea, exactly? Or am I better off keeping my lunch in my stomach?

[samantha_grey]

Affadil leaves. Magical herb used to protect against curses. Not really meant for brewing, but not outright poisonous. You don't want to drink it or smell it... ever.

Hell, if anyone's thinking of kissing me, I'd suggest at least a half hour's wait.

[zodiacal]

That-- sounds tasty. [BUT NOT. At all.] Maybe you should try kissing someone you really hate.

[samantha_grey]

... [And for some reason that just caused Samantha to fall into a fit of giggles. They had an awkward, hollow sound to them, but she did look genuinely amused while she was rolling on her back.]