OPEN

[dragonmount]

WHO: Rand & you!
WHAT: Event aftermath
WHERE: Greentruth and Godsblood
WHEN: Late Soviseri to early Firaseri
WARNINGS: Will add as needed

GODSBLOOD

[ he lays low.

after vaeka's execution is prevented, after things start to quiet, he risks one trip to the building where he'd been living. he isn't there long: enough to check on eleanor (and dodge questions about the fading bruises on his face), enough to speak to the person he rents from, and enough to vacate his apartment. he doesn't return there. he doesn't visit any of his usual haunts, before or after the kenoma leave the city, nor any of the handful of places that'd gotten used to giving him odd jobs. the idea is to effectively vanish, and he does a decent job of that.

if asked, he isn't totally unavailable, especially to fellow aions. he's avoiding the kenoma, yes, but he's just as much avoiding the godsblood locals who know him. so: if asked, he'll admit he can be found at ernesto's. and he's not unwilling to meet people in the city, either, so long as they avoid some of the more populated areas at busy times. caution isn't his native language, but it's one even he can use sometimes. ]

GREENTRUTH

[ once things settle further, once the kenoma envoy finally leaves godsblood, he starts chancing trips back to greentruth. carefully, of course; after however vaeka was found out, they have to tread carefully. and the safe haven in the forest is more important than ever, now that the regent has seen fit to remind them that godsblood is technically under their domain. he'd never do anything to jeopardize it.

more saliently, after getting stabbed in the leg by a surprisingly strong girl and her huge magic scythe, getting around isn't as easy as it usually would be, even with healing. those with an ability to use or see magic predating their arrival in horos might notice, at moments, the faint glow of a weave wrapped around his bad leg. he only uses it while standing still, mostly — the logistics of getting this small magic to move with him when he walks aren't currently in his skillset — but it helps him be more stable on his feet than he really is. and he's here, after all, to work.

he still offers instruction in archery and related skills, can be easily found carving bows and fletching arrows (sitting, usually) or else correcting stances and generally providing advice for anyone who wants to learn. his own lessons in swordplay unfortunately likely have to wait till he's better, but that doesn't mean he never wanders over to borrow a training blade and...you know, start getting ideas. recent experiences in godsblood might have made the prospect of becoming a swordsman more painful, but not enough to stop him.

but maybe the real difference is that now, not infrequently, he practices channeling. usually some safe distance from more populated areas, but not impossible to find, he'll find somewhere to sit and — those aforementioned with an ability to see the Power will be able to notice a swirl of light and darkness around him. those who can't will only be able to see the effects of his channeling. he likely looks strange, often frowning at his hands before,

an orb of light appears between them, floating through thin air,

or a gust of wind blows around the area, (though hopefully not too violently? but also: no promises. weirdly, no matter how violent the gust, his hair and clothes stay completely unruffled),

or thunder seems to rumble overhead, briefly,

or, just maybe, he accidentally shoots off a fireball in your direction.

in any of the more dangerous cases, he'll scramble to his feet hastily, wincing, and dispel the magic with frantic apologies. see: ]

Sorry! I'm sorry. I didn't see you there.

WILDCARD

[ hmu if you'd like to plan something! the intent is for this post to be a catch-all for the month of august. ]

Comments

[dragonmount]

[ we're all missing someone.

isn't that true? there are people rand misses like a drowning man misses air. he's taken so little interest in the places of horos because they aren't home, could never compare to the two rivers. and he knows that it's the same for everyone, on some level or another, or at least most of them. though he has less of hiccup's empathy on that fact, particularly for those among the kenoma.

still, there's a small smile he can't help, as he considers that last comment, another relatable thing. ]

I know what you mean. If I weren't doing my best, and any of my friends found out about it? Light, I'd be in trouble.

[dragon_rider]

Right?

[ Hiccup is quick to latch onto the sentiment. Tone amused as he waves a hand in mild exasperation. He can picture it as easily as he would the newest invention he would make. Breath coming out in a short sigh of a laugh: ] Astrid would definitely be the one to fly out to the middle of the ocean and toss me out saying I had to figure out how to swim back if she knew.

[ Which objectively doesn't make a whole lot of sense, really, but the sentiment is there. You think you're drowning alone? Well, now you are. He shakes his head slightly, thinks of the lack of a thinbraid that would usually make him wince when it his eye. A common effect when thinking of Astrid. Maybe having just one wouldn't be so bad - for her. He pauses, and then adds, a little more somberly: ]

Do you ever think about how there'd be someone better you know to deal with all of... well, this?

[ And then feel guilty for it all at once, but different story there. ]

[dragonmount]

[ he laughs, a little. ]

She sounds like our village Wisdom.

[ even if he doesn't completely follow the example, he does get the sentiment. he can absolutely imagine the tongue-lashing nynaeve would give him for so much as daring to give up. which...makes the more serious question a moment later seem less out of the blue than it could. he breathes out, sobering in turn, and admits, ]

All the time. Nearly any of my friends would be more useful to the Pleroma than... [ well, than he's been. but that's veering too deep into self-pity, so he shakes his head. ] Moiraine too, if you knew her. She came from the same place I did, though she... [ he doesn't really know. ] ...disappeared, not long after I arrived.