caveofsapphires | smaller patch of fading sky [ open ]

WHO: EVERYONE. All PCs thus far will be in this log, through active tagging or implication.
WHAT: THRILLS. SPILLS. Hiking trip toward the Diamond City.
WHERE: The Overworld.
WHEN: Forward-dated to May 1st (Tuesday) through May 7th (Monday).
WARNINGS: May contain violence or other mentions of physical harm. This is not summer camp.
NOTES: More information can be found on the OOC post here. Please read it!

Gathered in the morning haze, Sleepers were brought to the mouth of the Cave with plenty of supplies and equipment. Compasses that would point them toward the City. Backpacks full of clothes and food, medical kits, tents and even weapons. Stun rifles and knives — to fight off any unwanted company, they said. ("Watch out for their bite," Ryan had commented. "Those fuckers are downright feral.") The straight and narrow path would get them there in six days if they kept a good clip. They were sent off just like that. Refusals to leave were met with a wall of guard force officers blocking the entrance back into the cave city. No way to go but forward, unless someone was particularly stalwart about remaining.

From the exterminator's station near the mouth, leaving the Cave was as simple as a short hike upward into the fresh air of the Overworld. Dust and an uncomfortable sort of heat pervaded the atmosphere, light winds stirring up the sand and teasing the meager bits of vegetation that had grown. No matter what direction you looked... it was all wasteland, cracked ground and desolate emptiness. Jutting up from scarred ground were boulders and small spires made entirely of glass and patches of stone; instead of reflecting the harsh sunlight, they seemed to absorb it and only add to the muted loneliness of the atmosphere. As far as the eye could see, there was no life to be found.

With no other option, the Sleepers eventually made their way onward.

The Doctor smirked. "Ah well, you'll just have to make do with your own hands, hmm?" he said, with the slightest hint of a grin. "At least until we reach the city. Who knows, it could be paradise." Doubtful. It was probably a mess of disarray. They'd see for themselves soon enough.

"Usually I wouldn't mind boasting about my own skilful hands, but in this case that strikes me as narcissistic," Gabriel said flippantly, suiting action to words with the cream. "And seeing as I met him that's saying something."

He shot the Doctor a sardonic look. "After a week of this? In comparison nearly anything would be paradise." And he oughta know what the various paradises looked like.

The Doctor took pause to take in their surroundings once more. It wasn't all that bad, was it? Similar to one place he'd been, only without the sea of acid. Of course, he had no idea what else the place had in store for them. "I suppose so long as it isn't more of this, hmm? Not terrible for a visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live here."

He tucked the lotion back into his pack and shouldered the bag with a grunt, once again glad he wasn't stuck carrying a tent.

"If this isn't a precursor to Hell, I'd eat my wings," Gabriel muttered, and then smirked. "Then again, if this city has hotsprings, I could definitely deal with the heat."

The archangel rubbed his hands to get rid of the oily feeling, finding a random pocket and leaving the cream in there before stretching with a sigh. "Y'know, there's a whole buncha stuff about treks through the desert in Dad's Book," he said idly. "It always looked kinda entertaining when you could watch from overhead."

He just never expected to get a front-row view. Somehow he didn't think it would be nearly as entertaining from this perspective.

"Not something you ever expected to wind up doing yourself?" the Doctor inquired, sounding earnestly curious about the answer. "So long as the heat is all we have to worry about, I can't imagine it'll be very entertaining." And he was hoping that would be all they had to worry about.

"To put it lightly," Gabriel agreed. "Back then inhabiting actual physical bodies was kind of a new concept. Relatively speaking. And the whole 'heat and physical exhaustion' thing just never happens when your presence alone heals the body you're in."

He paused, heaved his pack up onto his shoulders, and then glanced at the Doctor with an ironic smile. "And that's why I didn't know when the Hell to stop eating cake before I got sick. Hard to tell limits when they never used to be an issue."

"Ah, so you're experiencing a whole new set of things." Now that was most fascinating. And yet, the Doctor did manage to avoid trying to interogate Gabriel on it, as curious as he was, and focus more on the trek before them. "Did you have enough time to adjust, do you think? I imagine this sort of venture wouldn't be a good way to discover your limits in other areas."

"A month?" Gabriel looked back at the Doctor again, and this time his expression was rueful. Rueful and old. A month, compared to the billions of years since the dawn of time? There was no way that had been long enough. "I don't think so."

The Doctor frowned, but it was one of concern more than anything else. "Then you'd best be careful." He felt silly for saying it as soon as it came out. As if Gabriel wouldn't have figured that part out on his own. "Stay hydrated, keep your skin protected, and you may want to keep those goggles handy in case the sand starts getting blown about too much." He lifted his own pair up to put them on, settling them on his brow for the time being.

The goggles and the cream, Gabriel had figured out. Humans were ridiculously squishy. The water ... that was useful. Sure, he'd known that humans were made of dirt and water, but the maintenance of their health hadn't exactly been something he paid attention to.

"Doctor's orders?" he said dryly, and started walking back to the main group. "Whatever you say."

"Consider it more the advice of the experienced," he answered, following Gabriel. "And if you develop any, well, problems along the way, don't hesitate to ask for further advice, hmm?" The least he could do was offer that much.

"So I can use you as my patsy, eh?" Gabriel glanced over his shoulder, amusement in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. "That's so good to know."

The Doctor shot Gabriel an amused look. "Not quite the term I would have used. Come, now, let's be on the move before we get left behind, hmm?"

"Now wouldn't that be a bummer?" Gabriel said sardonically, but did as the Doctor suggested anyway, hitching up his bag as he moved toward the group.

smaller patch of fading sky [ open ]

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