heyo!! thanks for the ping -- unfortunately I'm going to have to back out here, I've picked up a couple of other rps that are a little more involved so I'm going to focus on those for now. I'm glad to see y'all are going to keep this going though!! I might be able to pop in again later on down the line :3 in the meantime I hope y'all have fun!
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♘ The name's CosmicCowgirl, feel free to call me Cosmo or Cowgirl! ♡
25 // female // infp-a
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25 // female // infp-a
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modern warfar 4 modern warfare 4 modern warfare 4 mOdErn wArEFarE 4 MODERN WARFARE 4
Most Recent Posts
Tuesday
Back to SDN
((ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @SonnetNSunbeam | ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: n/a ))
“I’m good if you are, I’m trying to stay on James’ good side, I may have been part of the reason the team had a drug seminar yesterday. Some older knitting ladies on a mission yesterday might have given me a few puffs of their reefer.”
"What?" She scoffed in amusement, totally not staring at him out of the corner of her eyes -- which, luckily for her, were hidden still -- as he took the lower half of his own mask off. Freckles.
“I still don’t know how he figured out that I did.”
Blackstar grinned again at the grumble, offering her hand when he was ready and moving them smoothly in to the air once more. "Well, maybe next time remember 'hugs not drugs' before they have to give you a powerpoint on it."
Break Room
((ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @FourtyTwo @Auragreedia | ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: n/a ))
Blackstar had herself and Asteroid back at SDN in a few moments, right on time to join the others in the breakroom. She was still in a good mood but she definitely got much quieter once everyone was around, simply going to find the water bottle she hadn't finished earlier and treating that as her lunch. She'd never been the type to like eating while at work, much to her mom's dismay.
She would've returned to the corner she'd occupied that morning but the armored guy had stolen it. Figuring it'd be better not to protest, she left him to it. There were a couple of heroes present she hadn't officially met that morning, armored-shadow-tendril-guy included, and she noted them quietly while keeping a side-eye on Not-Phenomaman. ...And the bug-guy. Madcap, was it? Who seemed to be posing in front of the window.
While she'd been pretty invested in her own dispatch with Asteroid, she quickly caught up on the others' dispatch successes and failures while listening in on the chatter. Of all of them, she was most surprised to hear Lightning Girl's mission hadn't gone very well. She supposed they all had rough days, but... well. She wouldn't have expected a single door to be the other woman's weakness.
Lightning Girl seemed to be putting on a chipper face about it, at least until their dispatcher informed her that door had been worth 4k. As James left, her defense felt a bit weak.
"I promise, that door was made of like titanium or something."
Blackstar, who had casually sidled around to Lightning Girl's side of the room, grinned a little and shrugged. "Must've been, for four grand."
It was a lighthearted comment, not a jab. Her opinion of the human lightning bolt was still extremely high, and some silly goof-up with a door and some frog-guy wouldn't be enough to tarnish it. Besides, from what she'd heard, seemed like SDN was being quick about covering it up -- she doubted it'd tarnish Lightning Girl's reputation much. Madcap spoke up before she could offer any other lighthearted encouragement.
"Heroes never give up! Not even against Brick throwing frogs and expensive locked doors! They always get back up and try again!"
...Okay. Encouraging, kind of?
"Oops, I said that out loud! But it's totally true! Just keep your head up, and bust down every door you can find!"
She was trying to be more mindful of her facial expressions now that she was no longer wearing the lower half of her mask, but the corners of her lips quirked up at that. Must be nice, having that kind of enthusiasm. Social anxiety hated to see him coming.
Jumping a bit when his hand found her and Asteroid's shoulders, she managed a quick grin and a "ha, yeah, thanks-" before he was off to the next, leaving her to shake her head a little and finish off her water in an attempt to keep from chuckling at his other "encouragements".
One by one, the team was called to those meetings James had mentioned. Alaine was sure it'd be some kind of light performance review or something -- maybe just a check-in for her, since it was her first day on the job. Her success with her very first dispatch had her feeling good, so she hardly gave it a second thought.
Eventually her own name was called and she hopped up from the chair she'd eventually sunken into near Asteroid, heading for the door after Eclipse came back into the room. She saw the shadowy tendril creeping into the vending machine and wondered if he was allowed to do that -- so when she realized he was stepping towards her, her first thought was that there was a mind-reader amongst them and it was him, come to tell her to mind her own business. Instead-
"Beautiful suit. Dark..."
Her eyes narrowed under her mask. He was going to say "like my soul", wasn't he?
"Like the night."
She could've sworn he'd just held down a laugh. Oh god. Was he actually a mind reader?
Thrown a little off guard, she chirped out an embarrassed, "Oh -- thanks. Thank you." She cleared her throat lightly. "I like the armor. Very cool. I wanted armor but it would probably slow down my flying. Although a spartan-style helmet would be cool still. Like that guy from Dark Souls 2--"
Okay, yeah, that was probably enough. Blackstar cleared her throat and gave him a smile, trying to act like her mind wasn't screaming dork alert!! at her.
"Uh. Anyway -- 'scuse me, I gotta..." Aaaaand off she went to that one on one, walking a little faster than before.
One on One
((ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @FourtyTwo | ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @SonnetNSunbeam ))
It was pretty much what she expected -- the last bit of her onboarding paperwork, KPI stuff. Blackstar answered easily and signed what she needed to, thinking she'd be out of there in a minute or two.
"First day on the job, Blackstar, and not bad at all so far. Are you feeling okay with it all? I know it's a mixed bunch, heroes, ex-villains. Claremont is a real mixed bag. Normally, you'd have an SDN dispatcher, but you have me for now. But, I'm a Hero Development Consultant, so my job is to make sure you can be the best version of you. So, I'll help you where I can to get you up to the best version of what you can do."
Uh-huh, uh-huh. She was nodding along absently. "Feeling fine, yeah..." That was it, right? She was casually getting ready to stand before she saw him opening up some new file on his laptop. Maybe some kind of "Rate My Dispatching" survey? Hopefully. She was fine with all the surface-level-employment stuff, but if he was going to start asking other questions...
"Only question I guess I had was, given we do a lot of outreach, can I ask why you were so careful about the face behind the mask? I know, heroes cover their identity, makes sense. But you're particularly protective, and a full face cowl is rare for non-Phoenixes. From what I've seen, it's usually not ideal fighting people. I'm no hero so you tell me otherwise, but anyway. Just saw it from the clips is all."
He followed it up by leaning forward. Blackstar casually pressed her spine against the back of her chair.
"So I guess, who might be watching your step? If it's anyone here, are you comfortable saying, and if it isn't, do I need to make any adjustments? Anything to put onto the system with any old foes? Because based on what I can see, I assume it isn't scarring, I'm sure..."
She wasn't listening anymore. Her head was somewhere else.
―✧―
She was somewhere above a long, dark road into the desert. It was night. They didn't see her coming.
She could still feel the impact in her bones from when she slammed herself into the side of that van with everything she had. Lots of screaming, yelling, flailing around.
Not her. She was dead silent, each movement a decision made without thinking, each flash a blur. The energy coursing through her veins wasn't pretty or sparkling or bright -- it was the rage of a solar flare. The violence of a supernova.
One after another, the screams stopped. The flailing disappeared. The only sound left was the still-spinning back wheel of the overturned, crumpled-up van and one man dragging himself through the dust with labored breaths, trying uselessly to get away.
Her steps were slow and measured as she strode along in his drag path, catching up to slam a booted foot down on his ankle with an extremely unpleasant crunch. She pulled a fist back as he shrieked in pain, a blade of dark, cosmic energy crackling by her head as he threw his arms out in a vain attempt to protect himself -- but his cries had words, and she paused.
"Please! Look, I don't know anything! I don't know who you are, okay?! Please! Please, I've got kids!"
Her tunnel-vision faltered. Was he just doing the same thing she was doing? Trying to protect his family in the only way he could? Did these thugs have dirt on him too?
"I won't tell anyone-- God, please, my kids-- I told them I'd--"
Alaine slammed her fist down. His yell turned into a gurgle that fell into an eerie silence as she took a step back, overwhelmed by the sudden, deafening quiet of the desert.
―✧―
"...Not yet at least."
Alaine blinked. Behind the black lenses her eyes came back into focus.
She should've known the high from her dispatch wouldn't last forever. Now she wanted to claw off her own skin.
And still, she could feel the same, unsettling calm in her stomach kicking in as she answered, evenly, "No one's watching my step." Aside from John, though he'd promised her he'd protect her family like they were his own.
She'd still kill him without hesitation.
Alaine casually let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, some of the feeling returning to her hands. "I just like my privacy. I'll definitely let you know if something comes up, though."
An easy-going smile curled her lips briefly as she shrugged, heart pounding against her ribs. There were stars at the edge of her vision. She swore she could hear herself screaming in the back of her mind.
"Thanks for the attention to detail. And, for what it's worth, which I know isn't much since you've only dispatched me once -- I think you're doing great at it."
She felt like she was going to throw up.
Alaine stood, smiled again, and excused herself so he could get on with the next heart-to-heart, which happened to be Asteroid. She gave him a smile as well as he headed for the office... then casually slipped herself out of the breakroom.
Tuesday
First Dispatch
"Hey, I'm..."
(collab with Sonnet/Jet!)
((ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @SonnetNSunbeam | ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: n/a ))
"Asteroid, Blackstar, I need you to help a subscriber with her vlogging channel. Pin sent."
Alaine’s brows furrowed in confusion at that, the movement mildly visible through the thinner material of her upper mask. “Vlogging channel…?” she mumbled.
She didn’t know how a couple of superpowered individuals could “help” with a vlogging channel, it wasn’t like they were IT specialists; maybe the vlogger wanted some special guests in their video? If so, that was kind of crazy that someone could seriously just call up SDN and get a super cameo for their vlog…
“This certainly feels like a priority-” Asteroid’s voice drawls over the comms system. “This is gonna be the best content she’s ever had.”
Oh well. A job was a job, right? At least it wasn’t a situation where she’d have to potentially use her cosmic energy. She was a bit nervous about that.
Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, Blackstar looked to Asteroid and nodded in his direction. He or Lightning Girl would’ve been her first pick on who she’d want to work with for a first dispatch, although her familiarity with the other A-Team heroes was pretty vague.
“Well, that’s us,” she mused, cracking her knuckles absently and tipping her head towards the door. She assumed it was the way out. With her track record so far, though, she might be headed the wrong way entirely.
Uncertain what Asteroid’s particular powers were, as she glanced down at her work phone and the pin James had sent through, she added helpfully, “You want a lift?”
She paused, then tacked on for clarity’s sake, “I can fly.”
Asteroid follows Blackstar’s lead out of the office. “That’d be pretty great, get the job done in half the time.” When they reach the front door he gives her a once over. “So, how we doing this? Piggyback, holding hands, fireman carry, briefcase?” He taps his nose twice, “I don’t know if we’ve got the chemistry for a bridal carry yet-.” A small laugh creeps into his voice through the entire question.
She couldn’t help another grin under her mask; had she been a little more at ease, a little less worried about what being that physically close to another person might make her powers do – she would’ve said bridal carry. Just to be funny.
But she wasn’t at ease and she didn’t fully trust herself yet, and holding hands felt safest with the least physical contact… save briefcase, which sort of felt like the rude option.
“Let’s hold hands. That should work,” she decided.
“I think that’s pretty reasonable." He peels back a glove, exposing his bitten thumbs and reddened knuckles. His hands are slightly clammy, and he’s immediately conscious of it when their palms connect. Shutting one eye, he uses his power to press out the liquid between their hands flinging it away from them. It’s- a little too dry now, but he’ll take it over being extremely damp and uncomfortable.
Once they’re in the air he lifts a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. The midday sun is harsh on his eyes. “Do you, like, listen to music up here? Or do you always just listen to traffic on I-10?” He looks North at the mountains in the distance, what would gravity be like at the top? Would he find it easier or harder to manipulate? His fingers open and close in the air at the thought.
Blackstar was so relieved that flying via hand-holding was working that she almost missed his question.
“Oh – yeah, I listen to music.” She was concentrating very hard on their hands. She hadn’t really noticed his clamminess when they first started out, thanks to her gloves – even if she had, she was too busy trying to figure out how her powers even made the arrangement work to be bothered. “Who wants to listen to traffic? …I don’t even know where I-10 is, anyway.”
Should she have admitted that? Maybe not.
Asteroid blinks at the comment, so Blackstar is new to town, noted. The subscriber is waiting for them at a trendy coffee shop, Iron and Kin, in an older, more downtown-esque shaped section of the city. He clears his throat before they approach, putting on a bit of a superhero voice through dropping his range an octave. It squeaks out in his test run- “Hi vlogger who is clearly an emergency.” His words curl at the end, and he waggles his head in mocking.
Blackstar grinned at that again, not that he’d be able to see. Soon enough they were nearing their destination and she very carefully came in for the landing, easing Asteroid down as gently as possible before letting the soles of her own boots drop to the pavement.
When they approach, UltraGal seems genuine. A pang in his chest, damn, that doesn’t feel good.
"Hey hey, I'm UltraGal! Can you help me with some filming? It's so cool working with supers, I was thinking, like, we explore Claremont, you show me all the best spots from the eyes of a super?"
Asteroid’s chest tightens further. Best spots from the eyes of a super? Every idea on his list is now either illegal or definitely not what she is looking for- namely, the inside of a villain dive bar. He scratches the side of his face through his mask and looks up at the sky. In the distance he sees the mountains and he blinks a few times as the neurons fire in his brain. “Nice to meet you UltraGal.” His voice is the same pitch it always is, the trialed voice completely forgotten.
He points up to the mountain. “Since you can fly- seems like heading up there could lead to some really good shots?”
Thank God he had some ideas, Blackstar thought to herself, also noting he’d apparently given up on the hero voice. She really had no clue what the best super-approved spots were, having only been in town for… what, two weeks?
Following his pointing hand with her eyes, she considered it for a second then nodded. She’d flown over those mountains once or twice. Would’ve been a fun little hike up for a date. As if anyone would want to date a murderer.
She pushed the thought away quickly. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
A quick glance between the mountains, then between the three of them. She could probably carry both Asteroid and Ultragirl… But, on second thought–
“Hey-” An inspired little snap of her gloved fingers as she pointed to Asteroid. “-Your powers.”
She had subconsciously noticed what he’d done when they’d first held hands to get over there; she doubted his powers were solely water-based, as the rest of his hero persona didn’t really seem to match that. And if it was some kind of telekinesis then he should’ve been able to fly on his own, right? Her next guess was something gravity-related, which, if that was correct…
“It’s a gravity thing, right?” She moved her hands in an up-and-down motion for illustrative purposes. “Think we could pull off a kind of bungee jumping effect with Miss Ultragirl here? If that’s something you’d be down for,” she tacked on to the vlogger in question.
“Um, yes!” the girl responded enthusiastically, looking between them in eagerness and adjusting the strap of her camera.
Asteroids eyes nearly bulge out of his head behind his mask. “Thats a really cool idea actually. Yeah gravity- a certain amount of pounds up to a certain level.. We just can't get her too high and I can do the math to rubber band her trajectory up to you.”
“I can jump a bit closer, while you take her and I’ll meet you… there.” He points up to a slope of the mountain that looks free of too much snow, and flat enough to stand. Running, he jumps, and throws his arms down on either side, flinging himself towards the mountain. He’s essentially jump running, which is a bit faster, but it’ll still take him a few minutes to get there. The entire way there, his brain is working on the idea that Blackstar proposed, writing physics computations in his head, adjusting for sea level height changes.
Blackstar, pleased her guess was correct, nodded and gave her coworker a casual two-fingered salute. “Right, seeya in a minute.”
She watched for a second as he jetted off, head tilting curiously before looking back to Ultragal. The hand-holding had worked for Asteroid but the vlogger was smaller and, as far as Alaine could tell, not super; not wanting to risk anything and now trusting herself just a little more, she suggested a bridal carry situation which Ultragal immediately agreed to.
Satisfied that she had a secure grip on the vlogger, who held her gopro in hand to film as they flew, Blackstar couldn’t resist the urge to swoop down by Asteroid on the way, adjusting her grip on Ultragirl and doing a smooth aileron roll alongside him. The vlogger let out a small squeal – the rollercoaster kind, not the “stop that right now” kind – and as she came rightside-up again Blackstar smiled to herself and sped up, gaining altitude as she went.
In another moment they’d reached the spot on the mountain Asteroid had indicated and Alaine touched down, carefully setting Ultragirl down as they waited for her coworker to catch up.
went ahead and made a quick post since nobody else had yet! I know I was the last person to post before Zapdos but I didn't think we had a posting order or anything, so I hope that's okay xD
(( ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @Byte/Intel ))
For a second, it almost looked like their mismatched little crew might be making some headway. Blackstar hadn't been paying too much attention to the man in the beret though she'd noted him when they first arrived; her flight path after following through with the cut to the dragon took her in a little loop around, getting herself out of the way of any potential retaliation while checking on teammates, but as she did so she noted the man was still there on the sidelines. Like it was some kind of show.
Suspicion suddenly sprung up in her mind as she came around behind the dragon again, preparing for another attack though her eyes lingered on the man with the beret. He didn't seem concerned at all. And what as that he'd just said? She didn't catch it...
Unfortunately, her distraction and proximity to the dragon proved an unfortunate turn of events. She saw the flames as they erupted but was too late to completely dodge them, still zipping out of the way as fast as possible despite her suit definitely catching fire. Gritting her teeth, Blackstar dove for the ground a ways away and purposefully let herself hit the dust, bracing for the impact and, when it came, rolling with it.
Although a bit painful it worked as intended and put out the smoldering parts of her uniform, leaving a few singed holes on her right side. Blackstar swiftly got to her feet, well aware the fight was still going on -- and now needing the share some information with the team.
Ignoring the sting in her shoulder where the fire had made the worst damage, she leaped off the ground and quickly flew back over to the others. Touching down again behind the safety of Maggie's wall, she focused her attention on the IT-looking one who'd been barking orders.
"Hey," she gasped, a little out of breath as she flagged the other woman down. "I think this dragon might not be what we think it is! When I-- ow--"
Blackstar interrupted herself briefly as she pointed back at the dragon in question, flexing her burnt shoulder as she did so but continuing quickly, "--When I was up there, the places where it's being hit are... smudged? Messed up -- not like actually hurt, but like paint's melting or something. Like the whole thing's a stunt."
She cast a suspicious glance in the direction of the beret guy at that before looking back to Intel. She'd seen the other woman's little drone things -- she assumed if anybody was getting a technical read of some kind on whatever they fighting, it'd be her.
Breakroom
Claremont SDN
Claremont SDN
She'd just about made her mind up to go ahead and start some small talk with Lightning Girl when Phenomaman walked into the breakroom.
Alaine immediately felt herself shrink into the corner, as if the meager shadow and her own dark suit would camouflage her. She'd seen Phenomaman before, and it had been after she'd... done something she wasn't proud of. He hadn't been coming after her at the time -- maybe? -- but it had scared her bad enough to leave an impression. Like the heart attack of speeding a bit and seeing a cop behind you all of the sudden... only a hundred times worse.
But, on closer inspection, she wasn't so sure this one was Phenomaman. He looked... off. Somehow. She wished she'd kept herself more informed on these things but alas, the last couple of years she'd really only learned whatever she happened to catch in others' conversations or the occasional news station playing in random lobbies.
In any case, the giant man wasn't paying her even a smidgen of attention. That made her shoulders relax a bit, but she decided to relocate and put some distance between them all the same. As she casually scooted down the wall a bit she noticed someone else entering; it looked like an actual minor, but there was something adult about the tiredness he seemed to display.
Whoever he was he didn't seem too enthusiastic about Not-Phenomaman either, but that meant his attention then fell on her.
“I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Tyler, dispatch.”
Dispatch? He had to be an adult, then, right? Blackstar bobbed her head slightly in return, noting someone else coming in as she replied, "Al--" Oops. "--uh, Blackstar. Nice to meet you."
Yikes, that was close. She'd blame him for introducing himself with a normal name and making her instinctually want to do the same. Hopefully he wouldn't think too much of it.
She did not envy him the role of dispatch. Him or James, for that matter. Not that she planned on being a pain or anything, she would just hate having to coordinate everything like that and not be there in person to help if anyone was in trouble.
Oh God. She hadn't thought about that. What if she started liking these people? She'd been away from her younger siblings for so long that her big sister instincts were starting to claw at her ribs like some kind of animal trapped inside her. She needed something to actively care about and, now that she thought about it, working with a group she might very well be put into some dangerous situations with would probably trigger that protective instinct.
...These people had better not be likeable. For the sake of her mental health.
"Wow, they're really staffing Claremont up, I thought they'd leave us high and dry for awhile in moving people to the other branch."
That was the other newcomer. She glanced over as he took a seat in a nearby chair -- backwards, of course, as cool people did. His attention shifted to her too then, but she supposed that was her own fault for moving out of her little corner.
"The black on black there is slick- I'm Asteroid, nice to meetcha."
The wink earned a small grin under her mask and melted away a little more tension from her shoulders. Dang it, that was pretty likeable. Now she was really 50/50 on that lower half of her mask, because she realized being non-verbal would look very a-holey without the help of friendly facial expressions. In place of said friendly expression, she tilted her head in a similar fashion and replied, "Blackstar. Nice to meet you, too."
She paused, then grinned again as she nodded down at his boots. She'd seen the red soles when he sat down. "I like the Louboutins." Hopefully the friendly teasing note came through in her voice.
This was the one Lightning Girl had called her doppleganger, right? Interesting. Alaine spared a glance in the direction of said electric woman, as well as the Not-Phenomaman Man, then looked back to Tyler and Asteroid as the latter mentioned needing fish food. For a fish named Ducky. Dang, that was cute.
Hm. A fish... She got distracted for a second mentally as the others' conversation turned to Mamaki, whatever that was, considering the idea of getting herself a scaly little roommate. That'd be low-maintenance-ish, right? In the sense she wouldn't have to walk it or play with it or anything... though that was a large part of the joy of owning a pet. Not that she could really give a cat or dog the attention it would deserve, given her new occupation. Or could she...?
That apartment was just so small and quiet and -- well, lonely. Anything would help. Even a fish.
Maybe that would solve the other problem. Get a fish and let herself be protective over that, not her teammates.
Wow, that sounded bad. Thank goodness nobody in there was a mind-reader... As far as she knew, anyway.
ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: @BunniesofDoom @Ducksworth
There were so many people.
Mairin was both fascinated and extremely nervous. She had been to large cities and towns in past years, so it wasn't as if she'd never seen so many people in one place before -- it was more the way they were all there, together, part of the same group.
Part of the same group. She looked down at herself, womanly figure wrapped in black. It covered her well. Especially the mask. It was hard to break more than a decade's habit of trying to hide herself, and wearing that mask over her mottled eyes was comforting in a way she wished it wasn't. Her hair she had done herself, pulling back a portion of the mousy locks to keep it out of her face but strategically leaving the rest down to hide the single shock of white hair and the accompanying spots at the nape of her neck. Again, old habits died hard.
She had told herself repeatedly over the past weeks that she had been chosen to be there. It could be argued it was just a coincidence, a natural draw where some hand had found her name amid a list of thousands -- but for the last decade or so of her life, Mairin had been denied the grace of coincidence everywhere she went. No, there were no coincidences for her. She had been chosen. By fate, by the Gods, by the stars, it didn't matter. It was the opportunity she had dreamed of since long before the fire that had started her on her wanderings, the opportunity to prove she had not been cursed.
While she would like to walk about unashamed of her spots and speckles, after spending years hiding them, it was hard not to feel the skin-crawling tremble of anxiety whenever said markings were visible to others. Would her fellow servants of the Gods turn on her? Cast her from the island? Beg the Gods to do away with her in order to keep disaster from striking?
So far, no one had done anything of the sort. Yet. Mairin had known brief bouts of peace like that before, where she dared to hope she might live normally somewhere... but all it took was one misfortune, one poor season, one tragedy, and all pointing fingers turned to the easiest one to blame: the Gods-cursed.
And for what? Some silly white spots? Why did the markings on her skin make her an icon for misfortune?
Mairin gave a small shake of her head, stopping herself before she spiraled into the internal debate she'd had with herself a thousand times before. She was meant to be working, no?
Leaving the quarters she'd been assigned, she found the supervisor she'd been scheduled under and was sent to help in the kitchens until she was needed elsewhere.
Kitchen work went well at first. She was tasked with helping to prepare some small finger-food sandwiches and the monotony of the task helped her quell her nerves for a while.
At least until the news from the ballroom started trickling to the kitchens.
A night that had been planned for months, organized to perfection, stressed over and triple-checked for inconsistences -- was suddenly going awry.
Mairin heard each new revelation as she worked quietly, back to the rest of the bustling kitchens. In the beginning it was the arrival of the first Gods and Goddesses, passed down from one servant to another; nothing unusual there, but it did start a buzz of excitement among the staff. It was then that things started to go wrong.
First it was just a dropped platter of pastries. The clash of the dish hitting the floor and the startled exclamations of those nearby made Mairin flinch, and although the rhythm of things was slightly thrown it was quickly on the way to recovery.
Then came the shocked word from the ballroom that the Gods and Goddesses seemed to have had a wardrobe malfunction.
This caused a much bigger stir. Mairin could hear the whispers racing around the kitchen, questions and fears that one or more of the human staff had made some terrible error. There was panic among some, worries that the never-before-heard-of wardrobe trouble spelled disaster for the rest of the festival. Each murmur of concern and question of the cause made her heart beat faster.
She hadn't done anything to cause it, of course -- but she never did. That was how it always started. Something bad happened, questions arose, fingers pointed.
Then it got worse.
The God of Death and Decay was there.
Mairin's hands shook as she kept assembling finger foods, grey-blue eyes rooted on her work while her hear pounded in her chest.
Why would a God who'd never attended the festivities before suddenly decide to show up the one year she was there? Surely someone would make the connection. Someone would start the rumor.
Her eyes darted to the side as a pair of cooks debated the topic nearby in agitation, one of them gesturing vaguely with a knife they'd been in the middle of using. The light glinting off the blade made her mouth go dry and her throat feel dry. She thought she could almost feel the old, ugly scar below her ribs where she'd been stabbed once in the middle of being accosted by an angry mob. Luckily it had been a weak stab and a shallow wound, but with only herself to tend to it in the weeks after it hadn't healed pretty.
Something clanged on her other side. Pots and pans maybe. It made her jump. Then another sound, behind her -- an exclamation from one of the head cooks, a raised voice that had her breaths coming quick and shallow.
Any second they'd all be turning on her, grabbing her, kicking her down, dragging her out--
Mairin practically threw the last little sandwich onto the tray and turned, dusting her hands on her apron as she tugged it off and tossed it on a line of hooks by the side door. Nobody noticed her leave, but she was too panicked to notice that.
Out she went, feet moving by instinct as she followed servants' corridors through the magnificent palace, made to keep humble humans out of the Gods' way. She'd learned the halls fairly well since she'd been there, but at the moment she wasn't admiring the architecture much.
Heart pounding, her feet moved on instinct as her mind whirled, body flinching at every sound whether she made it herself not. Walking, striding, running -- until--
Fresh air. Mairin stumbled to a halt, blinking as she realized she'd come out into the gardens. Ah. Well...
She took a deep breath. Unfortunately, ever since she'd been badly sick once as a child, her sense of smell had been fickle; she couldn't smell the lovely flowers that the gardeners had been working so tirelessly on, but she was sure they were delightful if they smelled anything like they looked.
Mairin exhaled slowly, standing there amid the greenery for a long moment and attempting to calm herself down with deep breaths.
"Think logically," she murmured to herself.
Logically, even if everything did go horribly wrong again and she was thrown from the island... it would be done quietly, no? No one would want to make a big scene with the Gods there, would they? ...Unless they'd just have the Gods get rid of her themselves... But that was unlikely. Surely the organizers and supervisors and everyone else who'd put so much time and effort into it wouldn't want the whole event marred by some kind of riotous expulsion of some random, speckled woman from the island.
Logically... The strange wardrobe mishap, with the Gods wearing gowns and the Goddesses in suits, must not be that horrible a thing. There were no Gods raining fire down on the palace or smiting servants from the face of the world, screaming and cursing. Maybe none of them were very bothered by it? Mairin hadn't seen any of them yet, but she assumed that, if they were terribly upset over the situation, she would've heard far more about it.
And, logically... was it so terrible that Getsuy was there?
Perhaps she was biased. She'd spent plenty of time pondering on the eerie God used in children's stories to keep them well-behaved. She never prayed to him or left him offerings, as she'd heard some did, but she did think of him. In fact she thought of him often when alone on her wanderings, wondering if they were so very different. Always roaming, always searching... for different things, no doubt, but still.
She'd made her peace with death a while ago, anyway.
Beyond that, wasn't it good that he would attend this great celebration of the Gods? Perhaps it meant he was coming around to humankind, or perhaps it was a sign of a change in the fortunes of the world, for the better.
Mairin let out the breath she'd been holding, feeling her mind at last calming down. Her hands still trembled faintly within their gloves -- again, the habit of hiding her mottled fingers had yet to fade -- and her heartbeat was still a touch quick... but it was better. She wouldn't do herself much good if she allowed herself to be the scapegoat for the world's misfortunes, would she? Best to keep a steady head and stay calm, even when things started to go wrong.
There was music playing somewhere in the gardens, a lovely tune. Idly Mairin wandered further, allowing herself a brief break from work before returning to the kitchens. There were so many people hustling and bustling about, she doubted she'd be missed for just a few moments. And there were no Gods or Goddesses about currently, which was good, seeing as it was apparently a very big taboo to be in the sight of one and not be working. Maybe it was about showing respect? No one had actually ever mentioned it. But--
Coming around a bend in the footpath she'd been following, Mairin was suddenly made aware of the fact that she was not alone and her thought that no deities were nearby was mistaken. Two were there, seated at a bench in a kind of tranquil reverie, she assumed; as if they, like her, had been simply taking a breath of fresh air and enjoying the moment. One was golden and draped in blue, the other... less golden. More disheveled, perhaps, was the word, and she had no idea who he might be.
But the golden one -- he looked exactly like her father used to describe. This had to be Melion, the favored deity of her parents. And of her, in her childhood. She felt that those days she had little to do with him, seeing as she didn't have the joy of farming or tending to wildlife... All the same, as she realized who he was, she felt a lump attempt to rise in her throat. Without warning, memories of her childhood came rushing to the forefront of her mind -- old visions of her father sat in his chair by the fire, still a bit dusty from the day's labor, helping her up to sit on his knee as he told her how Melion had helped him grow their crops that day.
Abruptly realizing however that she was standing in the presence of at least one God and quite possibly another that she felt she'd better pretend she wasn't unfamiliar with -- Mairin swiftly straightened up and put on her best manners. Best to act as if she was there for a reason and not just taking a break, otherwise she might end up cast off the island after all.
"My lords," she said, bowing slightly. Which probably looked a little odd, considering a curtsy would likely be more expected -- but she was far more used to wearing pants, and as a child she'd always followed her father around and had learned to bow before learning to curtsy. At least her voice wasn't shaking.
Of course, now she had no idea what to say. She didn't have any refreshments on hand to give her an easy explanation for what she was doing out there, and she wouldn't lie and say she'd been tending to the gardens. Straightening up, she recalled her training and avoided the urge to gaze curiously at the one sitting in front of the bench. Think, Mairin, think! "Ah... may I fetch you anything from the ballroom?"
Hopefully that would do, and they wouldn't be irritated by her intruding on the peacefulness of the moment.
@NekoKyu hellooo so I got sick and completely forgot about this :'3 but if you're still looking for writers, I'd love to pop in with a human character! not sure if y'all are more active here on the discord, just let me know where you'd prefer me to submit a character sheet <3
Things didn't seem to be going to plan. The dragon appeared unfazed by everything, dodging attacks and letting loose a bolt of fire that Blackstar had to pull some quick aerial maneuvering to avoid. Luckily she was good at that. Still, she could feel the heat even through her thermal-regulated uniform as she darted out of the dangerzone.
Nothing seemed to distract the beast. Except that wire that had been shot at him and caught hold of his wing -- though, rather than falter and try to get away, the huge creature seemed to try and pull the holder of said wire up, over the wall the witch-girl had made. If it managed that, the wired woman would be in direct danger.
Wait, there was someone Blackstar hadn't clocked before, calling out orders in an almost monotone fashion, like she did this sort of thing ever day. The rebellious streak in her resented someone just stepping in and assuming command without discussion, but before she had much time to consider it she saw the flashy guy shoot a ball of light up into the sky.
Something told her she'd better look away before she was blinded, and she did so just in time. If she'd been looking, her retinas definitely would've been feeling that burn.
Rolling through the air and coming back up behind the dragon, she manifested the dark energy blades she'd dismissed a moment ago. All she needed was for the monster to be distracted by that light, just for a second -- there.
Blackstar dove down, cutting dangerously close to the dragon's head to score her cosmic blades along the side of its skull. It was a risky maneuver, but she was quick. She didn't know how the dark energy would respond to the scales, but she knew it wasn't a killing blow -- just something to sting and hopefully keep the monster distracted from Wireframe and everyone else on the ground.
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