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

[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.]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette gulps. She picks up her first aid kid and, holding it over the opening, presses the cross on the front causing it to emit a bright light. She peeks into the hole again.]

It...It doesn't look like it's that far of a drop, right?

[She edges just a little closer. It'll be fine. Just fine, right? She'll just have to jump in. Jumping in isn't falling. She definitely won't fall, probably, and she definitely won't get hurt while not falling. Maybe.]

[foundafamily]

[That first aid kit is pretty handy. The hole isn't that much less scary now that they can actually see it, but the light will definitely be a big help once they're actually moving.]

...Nah, it'll probably be fine.

[He looks from the hole to her.]

Want me to go first?

[ribbonbon]

[She feels guilty for even considering it, but...]

I-If that's okay with you...?

[She smiles nervously. After a second she takes the ribbon from her ponytail and ties it around her first aid kit to keep the cross pressed in so it stays lit, before offering it to him.]

If you want, you can take it until I get down there.

[foundafamily]

[He nods, forcing a half-smile to cover up his nervousness.]

Sure. There's probably nothin' down there--a lotta the dangerous stuff is probably waitin' in the city or back at the front lines.

[Hopefully. Of course, that doesn't mean it'll be fun when they start getting closer to entering the city.

He's a little embarrassed at how relieved he is that she offers. He nods and takes the case.]

Thanks. I'll tell you if it's all clear.

[And then he jumps. It's not a long enough fall to be dangerous, but he doesn't manage to catch himself. She'll probably hear him cursing before he calls up that it's safe to come down.]

[ribbonbon]

[Her eyes widen a little when she hears that swearing, but when he gives the all clear, she sits on the edge of the hole for a moment before jumping down, letting out a quiet squeak. She stumbles a little when she lands, only just keeping her balance.]

Oof...! I hope this thing isn't too long...

[Even with their light, she finds it a little creepy.]

[foundafamily]

[He keeps out of the way to watch her land, ready to step in if she looks like she's floundering. A little stumble isn't bad, though, so he keeps his distance and starts walking as soon as she looks ready.

He glances over at her remark.]

You're that eager to jump back into battle, huh?

[Please just ignore Firo's terrible attempts at humor.]

[ribbonbon]

[She pouts a little bit, clearly not amused, as she follows him.]

No...! I'd just rather be above ground than in some...creepy gross drain tunnel or whatever.

[She looks around a little, trying to stick close. The quiet echo of their voices isn't doing much to decrease the creepiness.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo's a little sad that his joke goes unappreciated, but he laughs it off. He doesn't sound too apologetic.]

Sorry. I get'cha. At least it doesn't smell too bad.

[Not that it smells pleasant, but it's not disgusting. It probably hasn't been used in a long time.]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette figures she can at least be thankful for it's lack of use. At least they're not having to slosh around in...who knows what. Even if the smell isn't too bad, the air is thick and stale. It almost feels suffocating.]

I wonder how long it's been since someone opened up that cover last...I don't think there are even like, bugs or whatever down here.

[Or...whatever animals usually live in sewer drains.]

[foundafamily]

No alligators either.

[That's not funny either, Firo.]

Who knows how long it's been? All that matters is that they didn't seal 'em up for good.

[ribbonbon]

[Firo, please. Pilouette's frown deepens just a little.]

I guess you're right. At least we were able to get in. I guess right now we just need to concentrate on getting back out the other way. ...And, um, if you want, I can go back to holding that first aid kit. Y-You know. So you can free up your hands. Just in case.

[Really, she just wants to hold it to hold it, thinking that maybe it will make her feel less nervous.]

[foundafamily]

Yeah? Thanks.

[He gladly hands the kit back to her and grips his knife more comfortably.]

Hopefully we won't need to do anything just yet... But, you're right, it pays to be prepared.

[ribbonbon]

[She take the kit and holds on tightly to it. Just holding it is helping her be just a bit more at ease.]

Maybe we'll get lucky and we won't run into anything down here...M-maybe they forgot all about this thing.

[foundafamily]

Maybe.

[He can't keep all the doubt out of his voice, though.]

At least we'd probably hear somebody if they were comin' at us. There's kind of an echo in here, isn't there?

[ribbonbon]

Yeah...Yeah, we'd definitely hear if there was someone else down here.

[She can hear that doubt in his voice, but she tries to a little positive. As they walk, she listens to their footsteps echoing through the tunnel. When she speaks she lowers her voice a little; somehow she feels like even her normal volume might be too loud.]

...I'm like, kind of nervous about what we're going to run into once we get into the city, you know?

[Especially considering everything they heard from outside the city.]

[foundafamily]

[He hesitates as he considers whether he should be honest or pretend to be brave.]

...Yeah.

What do you think's gonna be in there?

[ribbonbon]

No idea...I mean, like, besides cultists.

[She bites her lip nervously before continuing. The not knowing is the worst part.]

If it wasn't something big they wouldn't have dragged us all out here the way they did, right?

[foundafamily]

[He considers her question for a moment.]

...Probably. I mean, it did seem really abrupt. Like they were desperate. And whatever that things was that they used against us earlier... that's gotta mean trouble. I've never seen anything like that.

[ribbonbon]

...I've never seen one before either, but I read about stuff like that in history classes back home. It was like, some kind of bomb or something, I think...but there's like, no way the cultists could have made something like that, right? I mean, I don't think so, anyway.

[She's not exactly a scientific person. Maybe they could.]

...Do you think the Malnosso knew that was coming before they brought us out here? That they just didn't bother telling us?

[Her grip on the first aid kit grows tighter as her expression darkens. She wouldn't be surprised. She sat on the fence for a long time, but after the last cultist invasion of Luceti, she had finally decided that she couldn't trust the Malnosso and the situation at hand isn't helping their case, as far as she's concerned.]