sixthiterationlogs | Take Two, Part I

MEET WITH AQUA

The message is strange, and Cissie isn't sure what to make of it, but she knows Aqua and likes her, so she doesn't think too much of it, or spend too much time questioning why she's been sent this kind of message. She hasn't been here long enough to be immediately wary of these things yet. Because of those things, she sets out to find the other girl. Once she finds her, she raises a hand in greeting. "Hey! Did you get a weird messa--"

Before she can finish her question, something happens, and Cissie finds herself on the ground, in a strange place. She pushes herself up, alarmed, looking around. She spots Aqua nearby, and two large bags. They're in what seems to be a forest, and Cissie carefully checks herself over before pushing herself to her feet gingerly. "...Are you okay?"

The message is a strange one. Like Cissie, Aqua hasn't been a resident of this world long enough to be suspicious of any strange messages. She doesn't even think that it might be a trap, that the mysterious overwatchers might have something sinister planned. Well, she does imagine that they have something planned; she just doesn't know what exactly. Still, she figures it can't hurt to find Cissie.

Unfortunately, when she does find Cissie, she doesn't even get a chance to say anything before she wakes up in the middle of a forest. That is a new one. She's beginning to think that being teleported to new locations seemingly at random is a trait of this world. It keeps happening and she isn't sure what to make of it.

Pushing herself to her feet, she picks up one of the bags, opening it to see what's inside. Surprisingly, it's empty. Weird.

"I'm fine," she answers almost automatically. It's true for now. "I'm a little confused as to why we're here and where we are, but I'm not hurt. What about you?"

Cissie nods. "I'm fine too, just... surprised, too." She opens the other bag and lets out a low whistle at the sight of all the supplies inside. "...There's a note," she says, pulling out the sheet of paper. She frowns as she reads it, then holds it out for Aqua to take. "We're stuck here, for a week. We have to gather something called zoom seeds?"

Taking the note when Cissie offers it, Aqua looks over their directions with a slight frown of concentration. This is new to her. New enough to make her start wondering. "I don't know what those are," she admits. "But maybe we can figure it out based on this drawing." This is better than nothing, right? And if they are gathering things to help, then there's no harm in trying.

"I think it might be worth trying and at least we're with someone we know." They might have only met once, but this is definitely better than being with a stranger. "Here, I'll carry the heavy bag." Not that she thinks Cissie isn't capable of carrying it, but Aqua is always willing to take the heavy things for the team.

And in all honesty... this is better than being alone in the realm of darkness.

Cissie nods absently, turning over the whole situation in her head uneasily. She's not thrilled about this; she has no idea what zoom seeds are, or what they do, and why they're supposed to collect them. Actually, she's pretty sure she's read about them in the records at the Inn but she can't remember right now what it is she read. But she is glad she's with someone she knows, and she wonders how many others have found themselves in a similar situation.

"Why don't we split the load?" she asks, reaching for the empty bag. "Then we can take an inventory while we do it, and see exactly what they've given us. And we should probably look for a good camp site, and try to set camp before we do much else. Trying to put together a tent in the cold and dark is not high on my list of fun."

This is one of those times that Aqua thinks she really should spend more time in the schoolhouse and researching what she can find about this place. Maybe then she would have a better idea of what zoom seeds are. And how to find them.

"All right." Splitting the load does sound more reasonable than one of them carrying it all. "That sounds good. I'm not the best at camping, but I think I know enough to help out. And I'm really glad I got paired with someone I know."

A smile accompanies that statement, as much of a smile as she ever gives, anyway.

"Let's see what we can find."

"Me too," Cissie agreed with a smile of her own, admittedly a bigger and brighter version of Aqua's. She may not know the other girl very well, but she knows she's friendly and an ally, and it makes Cissie feel better, being thrust into this kind of survival situation with someone she already knows and trusts to at least work with her instead of against her.

There's always a possibility that this might not be too bad.

For a while, things actually do seem to be going fairly well. They find a campsite that seems relatively safe and set up camp, and even manage to find some of those zoom seeds they're supposed to collect. It's cold, but they have warm clothes and sleeping bags, and it almost reminds Cissie of camping with her friends back in their Young Justice days.

After they finish their breakfast, Cissie stands and stretches. "Do you want to try going the other direction today? Up over that ridge?"

Honestly, Aqua is more than a little surprised that things seem to go as well as they do for the two of them. She's grateful for it all the same. They get a campsite set up, find some of the seeds to collect, and generally have a decent enough time working together for a few days. Aqua isn't about to complain about how things are going.

Later in the week, as they finish the morning meal, Aqua follows Cissie's lead, setting aside what she'd been using and standing up. She turns in the direction Cissie means, examining the horizon. "I think that's a good idea," she agrees. "Maybe some more seeds will be off in that direction. We've gone almost everywhere else already."

That direction turns out to have a little more water to it, which makes Aqua think there will be more seeds out here. Seeds have to have water to grow, right? This makes perfect sense to her. Unfortunately, her keyblade master training never really involved dealing with a lot of wildlife, so she isn't looking for anything that might be disturbing the water as she and Cissie make their way closer.

Cissie's hopeful that Aqua is right; it would be nice if they could find a really good source for the zoom seeds. If they could gather a lot, it would maybe help them finish sooner and get back to the village. It isn't that she's not enjoying their camping trip--she likes Aqua, and spending time with her. But it's cold and not the best season for camping, and she's wary about what this place has in store for them.

They crest a small hill, and the lake seems to appear in front of them, large and deep and cold-looking. But it's beautiful, and Cissie stops by the edge of the water to just take a minute and look.

"Wow. It's really kind of beautiful out here, isn't it?"

Likewise, Aqua is wary about what they will find. The longer they go without anything happening, the more she thinks they might get out of this easily. The weather and cold are the only things hampering them for now and it would be nice if things stayed that way.

Naturally, they don't. Aqua has just enough time to nod in response to Cissie's comment before something in the water catches her attention. Something large breaks the surface of the water, reaching towards them. Almost immediately, Aqua places herself between Cissie and whatever it is. The creature wraps a claw around her torso in an attempt to pull her away and into the water. Flailing around in its grip, Aqua reaches out for Cissie in a desperate attempt to grab something that can keep her from being drowned by this creature. Cissie just happens to be the largest object around.

It all happens so fast that Cissie barely has time to glance at the water before Aqua is moving between her and the lake, and no sooner does she realize that there is something coming out of the water than it has grabbed Aqua around the waist in what appears to be a giant claw.

"Aqua!" Cissie barely has time to shout her name. She reaches for her just as she is reaching for Cissie, and the grabs her with both hands, digging her heels into the soil to do whatever she can to keep her from being pulled into the water. She's never before tried using whatever power her white wristband gives her, but she prays for it to kick in now; she knows how it works, at least in theory, and if some luck can help Aqua now, as far as she's concerned, she can have all of Cissie's.

Luck isn't everything that kicks in at that moment. Aqua isn't paying attention to their scrubs powers. She has a general idea of her own and what it has done to save her in the past. In a situation like this, she falls back on her training, using what she has learned over the course of her whole life to get her out of trouble. The only problem is that the creature that has her is holding her too tightly, both too close for her to get a good swing with her feet and too far away for her to be able to push off to get herself away from it.

If only she were bigger, she could pry the claw apart and get free.

Something shifts and for a moment Aqua can't really tell what it is. At first, it just looks like Cissie is getting smaller and further away, like Aqua's arm is stretching. But no, Aqua is getting bigger. She gasps and for a split second, her hand slips out of Cissie's. It's enough to have her immediately shrinking back down to normal size and she reaches with both hands.

"Cissie!" she yells. "Don't let go!"

As soon as contact is reestablished, she moves to start trying to pry the claw away from her body with one hand. The crawfish seems unimpressed with her new size and that is fine with her. As long as she can get it to let her go eventually.

Of all the things that Cissie expected to happen, watching Aqua grow larger in front of her eyes was not even on the list. Her eyes widened and in her surprise, her grip on the other girl isn't quite enough to hold. Aqua's arm, growing as it was, slips out of Cissie's grip and she shouts, both in alarm and surprise.

When Aqua shrinks again and reaches for her, Cissie lunges for her and grabs hold as tightly as she can, wrapping her hands around her friend's wrist and shoving her heels into the muddy ground. "I won't, I've got you!"

She grows again, and Cissie wants to help her pry herself loose, but she doesn't dare let go or loosen her grip even a little. "Can you control this at all? If you get big enough, it won't be able to hold you!"

Cissie has a good point about that and it makes Aqua think, even as she struggles against the giant crawfish. The creature tightens its grip on her torso and she grunts with the pain and effort of trying to pry it open. It swipes at her with another claw, which she kicks away with one steadily-growing foot.

"I'm... trying to!" She grunts again as the creature starts trying to drag her back under the water. "Can you - ow!" By now, she's large enough to cause it a bit of trouble, but it still has a good grip on her. "Can you get any bigger, too?"

Cissie shakes her head; she doesn't know why Aqua would ask her that, unless it's something everyone can do where Aqua is from. She doesn't realize that this kind of size change isn't something Aqua has done before. But even as she's shaking her head no, she's wishing she could, and she doesn't even notice that it's happening at first. Once she does realize that she's growing, just like Aqua, she gasps and almost lets go in surprise, stopping herself at the last second. She grips Aqua's hand even tighter, which becomes easier as she starts to match her in size again.

"...I guess I can. This is new," she says, mostly to herself, reaching out with her free hand to help Aqua, smacking at the claw, trying to help her pry it open.

Adapting to one's environment has been a critical part of Aqua's life. Existing in the Realm of Darkness didn't change that and neither has existing here. She's had to get used to a wide variety of things and abilities she didn't have at home, not even as a keyblade master. Changing size is one of those. But her train of thought jumps from her to Cissie. If Aqua can do it, why can't Cissie?

They just have to keep contact.

The two of them get the claw pried open after another few moments of struggling. Aqua manages to land a kick on its joint, causing it to release her on reflex. Unfortunately, this means it drops her into the water. She holds onto Cissie's hand with all her strength, grateful that she hasn't been pulled out too far yet, and quickly pushes herself to her feet. Their adversary seems to be watching them, sizing them up.

Aqua's eyes narrow with determination and she readjusts her grip on Cissie's hand. Now that they're standing side-by-side, they can thread their fingers together and have an even stronger grip on each other. It'll be harder to break them apart now.

"I'm not interested in killing it," she says, watching it carefully. "I just don't want it to keep distracting and attacking us."

If it doesn't attack them, she's content to leave it alone.

Cissie laces her fingers tightly with Aqua's, nodding. She's not a fan of killing anything, even animals, even knowing they have to eat and it's a necessity of life here--and she's not so married to that ideal that she's willing to go vegetarian. But that doesn't mean she wants to do any hunting or killing herself. Maybe this would count more as fishing, but she isn't actually going to think too hard on it right now, since she's too busy watching the giant freaking crawfish to see if it's going to back off or not.

Unfortunately, the answer seems to be "or not." The creature retreats back under the waves, but she can see its shape, darker against dark waters, seeming to swim away... only to circle back towards them again. Cissie takes a step back up the shoreline, tugging Aqua back with her. Maybe if they're not too close to the water, it will back off--it can't possibly reach that far, can it?

But then again, maybe it can. She's never seen anything like this before, and she's not even familiar enough with normal crawfish or lobsters or shellfish to know how they behave. Her father took her mother out for a fancy dinner when she was five, and the bad shellfish he ate killed him; she's just not a fan.

Cissie reaches and picks up a rock. It feels like a small rock, but in actuality, it's more like a boulder. Thanks to their size, it feels like picking up a pebble. She takes aim and tosses it at the water behind the creature, hoping the noise and movement of the water will be more interesting than they are. "Maybe that will get it's attention..."

Aqua is a little disappointed that the answer doesn't seem to be swaying in their favor, even if she isn't surprised. Still, she doesn't back down as the creature swings back around towards them. At least, not until Cissie picks up a small boulder to throw at it. Her aim is impressive and Aqua can tell that it hadn't been the intention to hit it. Though the creature seems slightly less fixated on them, Cissie's tactic seems to have worked for a short time, it gives Aqua enough time to think of another option.

"We've discovered we can become larger," she starts, backing up slowly and gently tugging Cissie with her. "Do you think we can make ourselves smaller, too? Maybe if we're small enough, it'll lose interest in us or maybe it won't even be able to find us."

It's a shot in the dark at this point, but she'll take anything she can get. And she has a feeling Cissie will feel the same way.

Cissie lets Aqua take the lead, following her back away from the water’s edge. She gives her a quick look of surprise, then grins at her suggestion. “That’s a great idea! If we’re small enough, maybe we won’t look like food anymore—if it can even still see us.” She pauses and adds, “...We’d better get further back, so we don’t shrink too much too fast and land in the water somehow.”

Getting away from the water is an equally good idea. Taking a risk, Aqua turns them so they can see where they're going. If the giant crawfish decides to follow them, they should hear it. Once they're up far enough, Aqua turns them so they can see their adversary. By now, it's making its way back up to the edge of the water, so they only have a limited time to shrink to make this work.

"Ready?" she asks Cissie, glancing at her friend. "Once we're small, we should probably move again, to make sure it can't find us."

Take Two, Part I

Cissie and Aqua | closed

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject