Zompania Draft - Draftees only, days 1-3.5

[lucetimods]

Who: All Draftees
What: This is your death. Followed by your time-traveling life and desperate bomb hunting.
When: From May 22 to May 20 to early May 23 (days 1-4)
Where: Zompania
Summary: Information post here
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post is for the draftee-only portion of the Zompania draft--the day 3 death, time travel to day 1, and then the events until the arrival of the reinforcements. Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Please note that there is a specific top-level comment thread for:

• The day 3 arrival of the draftees and the 6 hours that follow until the bomb is dropped
  
• Death--This thread can be treated as REFERENCE ONLY. Responding to it isn't necessary.
  
• Threads prior to departing for Zompania--post resurrection freak outs, arguments over how to proceed, etc.

All other threading, from day 1 until the reinforcements arrive, should be conducted as normal.

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

[foundafamily]

Those assholes probably just wanna get us killed. But there's definitely easier ways to do it than this.

[And then he finally notices how uncomfortable she looks. Connecting the dots, however, will take more effort.]

What's wrong?

[ribbonbon]

[The idea that they were sent out to die doesn't do much to calm Pilouette's nerves. Her body is tense and she leans toward him a little.]

M...Maybe it would be easier to avoid being killed if we um, keep it down a little.

[foundafamily]

Oh.

[He nods and lowers his voice.]

Yeah, yeah, sorry. Won't happen again.

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette exhales. That's one issue down, but...]

Either way, we still don't know just what we're looking for, huh? [She thinks for a moment.] In the movies it's always like, an air vent or a sewer or something, but...

[She doubts there's going to be an air vent just out in the open for them to climb into.]

[foundafamily]

Yeah...

[He scans the walls again to see if there are any vents he missed. Nope.]

Maybe they do have somethin' like a sewer. At least we'd have somethin' to look for.

[Though if they don't, then this whole thing will be fruitless.]

[ribbonbon]

Yeah...or maybe there's at least some kind of drain or something, right?

[Now that they have some idea of what to look for, Pilouette is feeling a little less lost about this whole thing. Though still a little shaky about taking the lead, she signals for him to follow her and begins to creep forward.]

Let me know if you see anything...maybe this will be easier now.

[If only a bit.]

[foundafamily]

Yeah... If it's anything like the ones back home, there should be a way to get in.

[It might not be pleasant, but is anything?]

You got it, captain.

[ribbonbon]

[Well, they had already died once. Compared to that, a trip into a sewer drain can't be that bad, right? As they go, she does her best to try and avoid anything that looks too heavily guarded. However, even though they have a better idea of what to look for, she kind of feels like she's just dragging Firo around aimlessly.]

Uh, s...sorry about this.

[foundafamily]

[Firo's attention is caught between saying alert for enemies and searching the ground and the walls around them. He blinks when she speaks, wondering if there's something he missed.]

What're you apologizin' for?

[ribbonbon]

W-Well, you told me to take the lead, but...well, I'm not really doing all that much.

[She figures there's probably no point in pretending to be a competent adult in this situation.]

I, um, I guess I'm still like, freaked out, you know? [After all, the last thing she wants is to get them both killed or something.]

[foundafamily]

Don't apologize for that. I wouldn't be doin' any better.

[He tilts his head as he looks at her.]

Freaked out about bein' dropped in a warzone or gettin' killed by a bomb?

[There's a lot of freaky stuff afoot these days.]

[ribbonbon]

[She thinks she gets what he's trying to say; really, what isn't there to be freaked out about? She smiles (though it's not a happy one) and then begins to scan the area around them, looking for a drain or opening of some sort.]

Oh...Y-yeah, I guess pretty much everyone is pretty freaked out right now, huh? It's like...it's just...a lot. I guess. It's kind of hard to concentrate or think or anything.

[That's an understatement. Unfortunately, Pilouette isn't exactly at her most articulate right now.]

[foundafamily]

You can say that again.

[He sighs and shrugs.]

Just... try to forget about some a' the weirder stuff.

[Yeah. Because that'll be easy.]

[ribbonbon]

[She nods, trying to keep a reasonably serious expression on. Maybe if she pretends she's not scare, she won't be.]

Y-Yeah. We don't really have a lot of time to think about that stuff anyway, do we? After all, we still haven't found a way in yet...

[foundafamily]

Yeah, exactly. So just don't think.

[Firo doesn't realize that some people can't turn off their brain so easily.

He's trying to think of some more not-so-sage advice to offer her when he spots something up ahead. It lies flat on the landscape, a different color than the ground around it...]

...Hey, what's that up there?

[Maybe he's getting ahead of himself, but it looks like it could be a sewer cover.]

[ribbonbon]

[Just don't think, huh? She really can't help but wonder if not thinking is such a safe idea in a situation like this. However, when he points it out, she cranes her neck to try and get a better look. She smiles, just a little...For someone who's not thinking he really made some progress here...!]

Hey, I think you just found our way in...! ...Do you think you can lift it? I mean, those are supposed to be pretty heavy, right?

[foundafamily]

[And now Firo's faced with a tough choice. It does look awfully heavy, but his pride makes it hard to admit that.

After a moment of internal struggle, he comes to something of a compromise with himself.]

...It might go faster if we try it together. You up to helpin' me?

[ribbonbon]

[She's not terribly strong herself and she frowns for a second, wondering if she'll be any help at all as feelings of nervousness return. However, either way they don't have much of a choice and she couldn't refuse if she wanted to.]

Y-Yeah...! [She carefully looks around to make sure they're in the clear. Hoping she hasn't missed anything, she gives Firo a firm, but anxious, nod.] Let's go...!

[foundafamily]

[He nods, rolling up his sleeves as they approach the cover. One they're there, he'll lean down to grab one end of it.]

Ready?

[ribbonbon]

[She grabs the other end. They haven't even started lifting it yet and somehow it just feels heavy or at least what one expects heavy things to feel like. She takes a breath and nods.]

I-I'm ready!

[foundafamily]

[Firo nods back and starts lifting.

It's really heavy, but Firo tries to put all his remaining strength into it. Maybe with two of them they'll be able to get it...]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette is likely not anywhere near as strong as Firo, but she's doing the best she can, trying not to concentrate on the weight of the cover. Once it's lifted a bit, she uses her foot to try and wedge her first aid kit underneath it in an attempt to make it easier to lift...or at least to keep it held up a bit if they don't get it on the first try.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo's just about to lose his grip on the thing when she wedges it open. He glances up at her and smiles as he slowly releases the cover.]

Smart.

[With it wedged open, it's easier to deal with. He's going to try and grab the cover again to shove it off to one side.]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette smiles back, just a little. She can't help but feel a tiny bit pleased with herself for a moment despite being in a warzone. She watches as Firo shoves the cover away, then peers down into the hole. She can't quite tell how deep it is just from looking.]

S-So do we just...?

[She looks back to Firo, motioning towards the hole. Though she's asking, she's sure there's only one thing to do...]

[foundafamily]

[He watches her gesturing and shrugs. He's pretty sure he knows what she's getting at.]

Just jump in? Unless there's a ladder or somethin'.

[He peeks down at the side closest to him, but there's nothing helpful there.]