BZPRPG: Ga-Wahi
Ga-Wahi
IC: Dynra
"And I'm Dynra. The pleasure is all mine, snowflake."
IC: Viloz (Ga-Koro)
The Skakdi's crimson eyes surveyed his surroundings as the Horde made its way deeper into the village of water. It had been a long time since Viloz had visited Ga-Koro, maybe too long. It was just as he pictured it the last time he'd been, its architecture exotic as ever and the place bustling with fish markets, boats and best of all, beautiful women. Though something felt different. Was it just him? No, it was definitely there: sadness.
The same joy people wore on their faces was nowhere to be found, instead replaced by a few glum faces and an air of depression. And the guards, so tense and rigid in posture. Evidently the aftermath of Nokama's demise. Even so, that little bit of hope the citizens clung onto still stuck and conversations of some saviour Toa team floated in the air.
"I smell," Viloz said, sniffing the air. "Taoki. You need a bath."
"... snowflake," Zekize muttered in response to the nickname. But these were the first people in the Wahi who actually acknowledged him, so Zekize figured he might as well stick with them, if they'd have him. He explained this to the Toa before him.
"So whats your story Snowflake?"
OOC: [...well, I'm going to make the wild assumption I was supposed to post and I've been holding you two up XD Sorry D=]IC: Voutok; Ga-Koro SquareVoutok pushed a little more through the crowd, making his way towards the crossbow bolt embedded into a mounted Takea shark's eye. That he embedded into a mounted Takea Shark's eye with a precise shot from the crossbow. As he approached and began to actually try pulling the bolt out with a little force, a couple people began to take notice. Most just rolled their eyes and moved on, but some acted with a little more confussion, eyeing him with slight suspicion. Voutok did his best to ignore them, pulling a little harder until eventually he yanked the bolt from the eye socket. He took a quick glance at the slighty-gore-covered crossbow bolt."How did I even DO that?" he thought to himself again, "I mean, that crossbow felt so...natural. Or rather the idea of a device that fires projectiles. Hmph. Kinda coincidental that I have a powerless mask of accuracy, but clearly that has nothing to do with it. It was just...natural.He made his way through the crowd, some of whom were now grimacing at the gorey bolt. When he reunited with Lenat, Firion, and Virrin, he looked at the crossbow then back at the bolt."It was...in there rather deep. Perhaps...well I don't expect this bolt to be of any use after that episode, eh? *he shakes his head quickly* Well regardless, Firion has his crossbow, and the chaos has somewhat died down from raving revenge-mad fishermen to repressively-angry citizens, soooo" Voutok turns to Firion "What now?"Lenat- Ga-koro IC: The crowd swept around them as Lenat watched the Matorna go. Voutok was turning out to be an interesting companion. His reaction regardless, that had been a good shot. An expert shot. His mind went back to several other times he had seen the Matoran zone out like that. Sure none of them had ended quite as spectacularly but they all pointed to an interesting conclusion. The Vortixx had seen it many times before from Guardsmen and travelers in his shop. They would pick up a sword or a bow and then just sit there, lost in there memories. I wonder what the kid is flashing back to.
"No story, really," Zekize replied. "Uneventful til recently, when I became a Toa." He shrugged, then asked the group, "who are you?"
IC Mayhaka
"We, we are a group of cast-out Toa. Before tonight we didn't even know eachother, but we met up, had a fight and now we're planning to take down a group of slavers together. That's pretty much it." He answered to the new Toa when he woke up from his nap.
"Slavers?" echoed the Toa of Ice. "If I may be so bold, would you take another with you?" The other Toa looked at each other and nodded.
"Of course, young Toa of Ice."
IC: Tayis
"Where do we start on this?" Tayis asked. "Back to the desert to find the guy who sent Mayhaka astray? If we're heading Po-Wahi way, I wouldn't mind having a team of Toa behind me to settle my, ah, little dispute, with a certain large somebody."
"That sounds like a start, but dont go getting yourself into major trouble. I dont feel like retrieving your body from the beach anytime soon"
Zieta stood up and signaled the others to follow her. She was being the leader of this new team, no matter what any one else tried to say.
IC Mayhaka
"Well, then, thats settled. But if we're traveling trough the desert, we better do it... IN STYLE." He slammed his warhammer down into the ground. And iron started forming around it a giant construction was formed from the warhammer draining the most of Mayhakas recovered power. A vehicle able to travel trough the desert in no-time. But such a vehicle required two Toa to power it. "Hey Dynra your a Toa of Mag isn't it?, can you help me power this vehicle by by spinning this wheel in the back?"
OOC It's something like this but bigger T
IC: Dynra
"Sure, that sounds like fun," Dynra said a little dryly. He walked over to the machine, flexing his mental powers as he did so, limbering up and finally directing his control over magnetism at the wheel. "Say, don't these things normally come with engines for this?"
"Maybe" Zieta said "But that takes the fun out of it"
She climbed onto the back and waited for the others to do the same.
IC: Tayis
Tayis clambered onto the iron vehicle, intrigued by it. "How'd you learn to do this?" he asked. "And can it go on water?"
IC Mayhaka
"When your chased by Muaka in a desert you don't have time to learn , you ACT and floating, well with such a thing your imagination is the limit." Let us go, Zeita you steer. The wheels started moving and they left.
IC: Veros
"After everything we've been through, I'll take what I can get." I continued trudging, the gate of Ga-Koro arriving in sight. "I could've sworn that a friend told me about a good inn somewhere in Ga-Koro. What was it...Tidepool, Wavepool, Reef...this is going to bother me forever now."
IC: [Atonal]
"Well there's a Lavapool, but that's in Ta-koro."
IC: Tehlin
With Savina gone for a while to talk to Nixie, I had plenty of time to be caged alone with my thoughts. I was prisoner of my own conscious, locked inside my own body. I should have ran. I should have ran untill my legs gave out under me. Untill the pain of cramped muscles stabbed through my chest. Untill my arms felt like fire. I should have ran as far away as I could, get away from the evil that surrounded this village like a wall of foreboding clouds before a storm. I should have saved myself from a meaningless tortured death. But I didn't. Not because the painkillers made it impossible to move. Not because I was frozen in fear of the idea. I just didn't. Not every decision had a deeper motive, a chain of thought leading up to it. I didn't move from the spot where Savina had left me. I don't remember breathing. I must've, considering the fact that my heartlight was still flashing.
Savina was all too cheery when she returned. It disturbed me. It disturbed me greatly. Her words, obviously meant to reassure, didn't work. I didn't hear anything, I probably couldnt hear anything even if I tried. Savina had blocked the enterance with her powers. I tried to forget it, find some justification of it, some benign motive for doing so. She didn't want me to hear. I wasn't brain-dead, despite what you might hear from other Ko-Koroans. She didn't go up there to ask Nixie about the best way to identify constellations. The Toa of Plantlife was like a ball of pure happiness and energy, a smile was on the verge of escaping from the edges of her Kanohi. She had gotten what she wanted, there was no doubt of that. Nixie, on the other hand, seemed subdued and quiet. I didn't want to know what had happened.
I couldn't deny it. I couldn't hide from it. It would be there, breathing down my neck like a starved Muaka. I merely glanced at the astrologer, a apologetic look on my face. Savina didn't need to drag anymore people into this.
A look at the Toa of Plantlife herself, and something broke inside of me. I knew what it was, but I didn't think it possible for it to break again. One never believes being heartbroken is a physical condition, untill the experience it themselves.
It hurt.
I hurt.
Savina already had helped me to my feet, and guided me towards the door. I wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders as she supported me. I couldn't escape, and my destiny was sealed. I put on a smile, and action that I found all to easy considering the circumstances surrounding me. "You found out what you needed?" I asked Savina, glancing down at that green and blue armored Toa.
To hope "no" would only be fatal at this point.
IC: Savina - Ga-koro -
"Uh-huh. I got everything I needed to know and more." She said, the tone of her voice betrayed the mood she was in, a very cheerful one. "Now there is nothing to do but wait for Anthyn."
Savina figured that Anthyn would show up at her house sooner or later, she may have already been there for all she knew. Either way it was the best place to wait for her, and that way Tehlin wouldn't have to stand around with his damaged ribs.
They were already at the docks, Savina was moving at a good pace, even with Tehlin supporting himself on her shoulders. She didn't seem to mind the extra weight at all.
"I hope we're still friends after I go through the ritual..." She began suddenly as they stopped, they had arrived at Anthyn's place, Savina would have to help Tehlin up the ladder though. "...I mean, I won't remember being Savina at all...so I guess we'll have to become friends all over again."
IC: Tehlin
If it had broken before, now someone was just burning it.
I gave Savina a reassuring squeeze. "Aw come on, you're a likable girl, how hard could it be?" I replied, my smile mprphing into a grin. A sinking feeling filled my stomach when we arrived. This was it. My thoughts suddenly went back to the doctor, and I wondered if she'd told anyone what I told her. I highly doubted that she believed me, and if she did, who would believe her? My life just seemed to get better and better.
I let out a small sigh, one that I couldn't fully hide from the Toa of Plantlife. I paused for a moment, the sounds of Ga-Koro surrounding me seeming to muffle out my own thoughts. A moment longer, and I turned towards Savina, unwrapping my arm from around her and placing both hands on her shoulders. I stared deeply into her lime green eyes. "Savina..." I began slowly, not taking my eyes off her. "I wanted to let you know..."
"You are, and always will be, my friend."
IC: Savina - Anthyn's House, Ga-koro -
"You are, and always will be, my friend."
Savina found herself speechless, though slowly Savina pulled Tehlin into a hug, careful not to hurt his ribs as she did so. She found that her eyes were tearing up a bit.
She wanted to become a Valkyr, there was no doubt about that, it was gonna happen one way or another. Although she was quite excited, part of her was a bit scared too. You couldn't really blame her though, she was essentially giving up her current existence to become something else entirely.
Though one thing she knew for sure, was that she'd still have Tehlin around when it was all said and done, and of course Anthyn, who would undoubtedly be with her before and after the ritual.
Knowing she'd still have her friends as a Valkyr was a huge comfort.
IC (Ketan)
The morning of the ceremony dawned bright and clear, the edge of the sun clearing the horizon to reveal a cloudless sky, blue and crisp as ice.
Ketan spent the first hour of the morning making himself presentable: the first occasion to mark the day would be Nokama's funeral, and he would act as one of the pallbearers. The sad event -the Toa of Air smirked at this- would be followed by the ceremony instating the Toa Arete as the stewards of Ga-Koro in the absence of the Turaga and Hahli.
And so it was important that he look his best. After his grooming was done, his burnished mask shone in the sunlight, his armour gleamed like new silver, and his rich, dark green cloak cascaded from his shoulders, brushed free of lint and dirt. His scythe was sharpened to a razor edge, and polished until he could see his face in its mirror-like surface.
Ketan, Toa Arete of Air, was ready for his ascension.
He stepped out into the warm morning air; already, the chill of night had been chased away by the heat of the sun. The blue sky was half-smothered in clouds; perhaps it would rain later, but, for now, it was calm and peaceful, with hardly a breeze to stir the air.
The usual business of the Ga-Koro morning was absent; the chatter and noise of the villagers at work was replaced by an empty silence. The Ga-Matoran moved here and there, beginning to line the streets to better watch the Turaga's last procession. So much like Nokama's entrance into the village of water, but painted with tears instead of laughter.
The Toa of Air made his way across the village, leaving no footprints on the green pads beneath his feet, until he came into view of Nokama's hut. There stood the Captain of the Marines, a company of guards, and the coffin.
Mounted on two poles that extended past it lengthwise, and carved of beautiful mahogany, the coffin was as elegant and dignified as the one it held had once been. Delicate carvings were etched into the sides, pictures of waves and graceful fish and waterfalls and and birds in flight. Precious stones were embedded in the wood here and there, tracing the fragile lines of the carvings. The cerulean jewels glittered in the sunlight: lapis lazuli and opal, agate and topaz, tanzanite and sapphire.
Ketan paused in his approach, and bowed. The Captain dipped her head slightly in response, but said no word. The guards stood tall and straight, protecting the casket that protected the body that, in life, had housed the spirit of their beloved elder.
The ceremony waited upon the other Toa Arete; upon their arrival, the procession would begin. Until then, the silence would stretch out, unbroken, and the only movement would be the rippling of the waves and the glinting light in the depths of the jewels that decorated Nokama's coffin.
IC:
Virin raised an eyebrow at the Matoran’s curious nature. He wished to inquire upon it, but for the time being, he simply ignored it. Besides, there were greater problems that needed to be attended too. “It’s probably for the best that we return to the Marine HQ. I’m pretty sure that they would like to see Lenat’s crossbow and we could see if there is anyway to help out around the place.”
IC: Voutok [Ga-Koro Square]"Works for me. Lead the way, just to ensure we don't get lost. I'm still relatively new to this place.""Yet I can utilize a weapon I've never heard of with pinpoint accuracy. Brilliant logic, Voutok, just brilliant..." the De-Matoran thought to himself, just as confused as most people were after the crossbow incident.
Lenat- Ga-koro
IC: Lent handed the quiver of bolts over to the Matoran guardsman and got ready yo follow the rest of the group to the Marine HQ.
IC - Decaia - Nokama's Hut: Members of the crowd stepped aside as the third Toa Arete approached from the inner streets of sullen Ga-Koro. Black hood drawn in an apparent show of mourning, head bowed ever so slightly in what seemed to be despair over the tragic fate of the beloved Turaga, Toa Caidae walked in silence toward his brother and sister, giving occasional, halfhearted nods to the Ga-Koran citizens as he made brief eye contact with them.
By all accounts, the Toa of Water looked exhausted. What could be seen of his armor glinted only dimly in the light of the sun, clean but not polished, as if he had run out of time to thoroughly tidy himself up. Though he maintained the straightened, confident posture that had helped to win so many hearts around the Village of Water, Decaia's eyes remained almost exclusively glued to the ground as he walked, staring absentmindedly at the lily pad, observing the clockwork movement of his feet--left, right, left, right... He inhaled slowly, quietly, a shuddering breath that might have been mistaken for an attempt to suppress tears.
That was not the case.
The truth was that the he felt nothing here. He felt nothing anymore. Every word he spoke, every inflection of his voice, every movement he made, all of it was an act, more so now than they had been upon their initial arrival as the Toa Arete, the saviors of Ga-Koro. Week after week had passed by, and with each new day, he felt all the emptier inside. For all the strength and effort he had put into being 'Toa Caidae,' little of it--none of it--reflected the husk that he truly was, the emotionless creature that he had finally accepted himself to be, the soulless being reflected now in his golden eyes, on display for all the world to see. Decaia had hoped for some sort of closure upon seeing Nokama dead. Instead, the sight had done nothing for him, and the sheer brutality of that night had weighed heavily on him.
It boiled down to one simple fact: He--Decaia--was nothing. Life itself was nothing. He had no purpose in this world. Perhaps it was regret for the illusion that he had helped construct here, for the horrid life he had chosen for himself--he did not know. Decaia wasn't even sure that he would recognize it if that was the case. All he knew for certain was that he was tired. And if he could just lie down and sleep peacefully--permanently, free of tortured dreams, free of sensations of drifting aimlessly through a void--he would be content.
Decaia sighed.
Without a word, the Toa moved into position on Ketan's other side, folding his hands together so that they were concealed by the sleeves of his robe. His thoughts wandered as his yellow eyes stared out from the dissonant, joyfully smiling face of his Miru, dead-set on the coffin that housed Nokama's remains, seeing but not comprehending all that was before him. Decaia pulled his hood further over his head, concealing his face and blotting out the rest of the world, as he waited...
IC: Voutok (En Route to Ga-Koro Marines HQ)As Voutok, Lenat, and Virin followed Firion as he began to lead them towards the Marien HQ, Voutok turned to Lenat to attempt conversation and pass time as he awaited their arrival."Soooo...where exactly did you learn about crossbows? Or how did you learn to make them?" He asked the much-taller Vortixx.
Lenat- Ga-koro
IC: "I already had a good deal of knowledge of mechanical things when I woke up. I even had a few weapon designs floating around up here." He said, tapping his head. "That there is the third or so version of the original design I had."
He paused for a second, thinking back to the scene a few minutes ago.
"How did you learn to shoot that well? That was a professional grade shot back there."
IC: Voutok (En route to Ga-Koro Marine HQ)Voutok shrugged "Maybe this Kanohi Sanok isn't so inactive after all, eh?" he said with a chuckle before bringing his volume down, intending to only be heard by Lenat but knew otherwise. It was mainly just a gesture to emphasize how he didn't want to make it a major deal. "In all seriousness...well, I don't entirely know. It was just...it felt natural. I honestly don't know how else to describe it. Guess I got a little 'trigger-happy'?"The moment he said that, Voutok did not hear "trigger-happy" in his own voice. His mind instantly flashed to the sight of what looked like a Ta-Matoran who was rubbing some kind of mirage-like image of what looked like a miniature metal crossbow with a rag of sorts. The Ta-Matoran moved his mouth but no sounds were heard, save for the words "trigger-happy" in the middle, with a laid-back voice. Voutok saw an image of this Ta-Matoran turning toward him for a second before turning away and apparently letting out a laugh (though Voutok could not hear it).All this occurred in a six-second interval, after which Voutok regained his mentality with a light shake of the head. He quickly "resumed" his conversation with Lenat."Yeah, as I'm pretty sure I told you before, I'm in a relatively similar situation: I just sort of found myself here. For all I know, maybe I was an expert bowman before I ended up here and retained my familiarity with the equipment, I don't know...""Or maybe I was something else entirely...""Well, regardless, I can tell you one thing:" Voutok casually drew one of his two bladed kanoka discs with a relaxed half-smile, giving it a few light twirls between his fingers "At the moment, I still find these things much more fluent in terms of combat potential. But that's just my personal preference." He placed the disc back into its holder on his back. "What about you? You got a preferred 'weapon of choice'?"
IC: Nika - Ga-Koro Rooftops
Nika was fascinated by funerals, for the sole and very simple reason that he didn't attend all that many. His job was to supply the corpses, not to arrange their passage to the next world. Occasionally he might begin the cremation process on a victim, but that was an honour he only bestowed to the worthiest of opponents, and even then, he would merely lay a lit match on top of their chest. Nika had no experience with more elaborate dues to the dead.
But as the famed assassin sat, silent and still in the morning light, high atop the rooftops of the village of water, he couldn't help but notice certain aspects of the funeral procession before him. Sombre, dignified beings huddled around their beloved elder as she was made ready to reach her final resting place. Their eyes, like reflections of their souls, were worn and weary, and their chests seemed to heave with shallow sobs, as if they were drowning in their own grief.
Nika knew the feeling - he'd been like that for half his life.
A pair of murky, leaf-green eyes watched the casket, inlaid with intricate patterns of sea-blue gems, glittering in the bleak sunlight, and couldn't help but notice that no fire had been prepared. There should have been fire, the Vortixx mentally critiqued, that would be the proper way to send off someone so respected. But then, this was Ga-Koro, the village of water; maybe a funeral pyre would seem sacrilegious in some way.
Suddenly, images of roaring infernos super-imposed themselves on Nika's vision, as if the thick plant-pads of the streets had spontaneously caught fire. Without even thinking, he plucked a bottle of whisky from his backpack, uncorking it and downing a mouthful in one swift motion. Slowly, a bit of the nightmarish flame faded away into the recesses of his memories.
The Vortixx kept drinking, and his family stopped dying before his eyes. It was a good enough trade-off.
-Void
OOC: I need a way to reintroduce one of my characters, and hope you don't mind me dropping in, Void.
IC: Kotaran ~
"Just wha' you think you're doing up 'ere?" Kotaran said, calling up at the Vortixx perched above and staring down at the Turaga Nokama's funeral parade.
IC: ZacaxThe Toa smelt the ocean air, as he was reclined back in his seat, in the back of his building. He was taking a little nap, not a lot of customers today but hopefully he would get some more business, someone had to buy his merchandise. He woke up and stretched his arm, getting up and looking at the weapons in stock. He then decided to head up to the front counter to see if there were any customers. He walked out to the front and saw the marketplace and the customers. It was to playing the waiting game again.
Lenat- Ga-koro
IC: The green Vortixx pulled his pistol-like rhotuka launcher from the holster on his hip.
"I don't know if I would say that this is my "weapon of choice" so to speak since I don't fight all that often, but this is as close as I have to one. Its an acidic rhotuka launcher. Each wheel is capable of melting through an inch of solid rock and I can charge it up for more powerful shots. Only drawback is the fact that it can only fire five normal shots before it needs to recharge."
He handed it to Voutok saying, "Why don't you take a look. I'd suggest trying it out, but there is a distinct lack of things to shoot right now."
He didn't say that he was playing a hunch and trying to see if the Matoran would have another of his (by now obvious) flashbacks.
IC: Nika - Ga-Koro Rooftops
A slight twist of the neck, and suddenly a pair of cloudy eyes were staring down at Kotaran, so impassive that they didn't betray any thoughts behind them.
"Watching a funeral, like any good citizen," Nika said monotonously, taking another drink of whisky, "What's it to you?"
-Void
IC: Kotaran ~
"Aye, watchin' the procession's fine, it's just your particular-" He glared up at the Vortixx. "-Vantage point that's the problem."
IC: Nika - Rooftops
"I'm not aware of any law that prohibits a being from sitting on a rooftop," Nika replied lazily, "Matoran should do it more often - then they'd stop complaining whenever I stand in front of them."
-Void
IC: Voutok (Ga-Koro; En route to Marine HQ)Voutok looked curiously at the device, holding it in his right hand but being careful to try and keep his fingers away from the trigger. "Agreed." he said as he examined the design. For one he didn't want to accidentally set the weapon off in a setting like this (a lot more disastrous occurrences would happen than simply shooting a crossbow bolt into the eye of a mounted shark this time), for another he didn't want to accidentally trigger another vision.The rhotuka launcher was definitely a Vortixx design, and the feeling of cold steel was peculiarly an oddly familiar sensation. However, for whatever the reason, no vision sensations were experienced. It almost startled Voutok."Perhaps it's not so random after all, or at least there's a reason for every vision...maybe it's...something inside me trying to tell me something...or maybe it has something to do with touching the weapons a certain way...or I'm just over-thinking things..."Almost on cue, there was a flash before his eyes. It only lasted a second, and Voutok had little reaction aside from giving a look of puzzlement. An image from his previous vision appeared in front of his eyes during that second: the Ta-Matoran. The miniature crossbow he was cleaning with a rag was replaced with a less hazy (but still not perfectly clear) weapon akin to the one-handed weapon that Lenat just handed to him. Voutok still wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but it did answer one question:"These visions are progressive...assuming this is proof of that theory, then that means all these visions I've had...I guess this means they'll 'evolve' more clearly when I encounter things that resemble what's in them? Regardless, I still have another more pressing question: what the karz warrants the visions to begin with?"Voutok handed the launcher back to Lenat. "Interesting craftsmanship, Lenat. I assume a Vortixx design? I do recall rhotuka launchers being of Vortixxan origin. Sounds like a comfortable choice for people like you, let alone an effective one if you ever had to use it in a battle." "Wait, what? How did I know that? I haven't checked the 'Rs' in the encyclopedia yet...let alone the 'Vs'...uh oh. Don't-think-about-it-don't-think-about-it-don't-think-about-it..."Voutok looked ahead to see a building he somewhat recognized from his time in Ga-Koro. Eager to get his mind off of a subject that could have very well turned into another vision, he addressed the company as a whole. "Is that the Marine HQ over there?" he asked.
