rookshire | Ashes to ashes, mountains will always need to be climbed

Ashes to ashes, mountains will always need to be climbed

Who: most everyone I think
Where: In the City and In the main hall
When: June 6-8 (waxing crescent and first day of half)
What: They've been in trouble on the hydration front. Time to fix that.
Warnings: none for now?

Ignis and Noctis were going to be heading into the city with a few others to help them collect canisters to store water in. Ardyn and Prompto would remain behind at the hospital to unload water stored in the armiger.

Beyond that people are free to pop in on either side to help with the water storage efforts.

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The journey to the city was a hot one but, thankfully, it wasn't as long as it had been when Rook had first settled in the sand. The sand bike that Prompto had found and brought back had cut the time in half, not to mention how much energy it saved from not having to walk that far in the heat. It had allowed for a bit more exploration and resource savaging and now...

Well, now it was almost on empty, according to the gauge in the console. This was going to be one of the last rides they'd get unless they found a way to refuel it. Soon. Especially since this particular ride was carrying so much extra weight. It was built to carry one, they'd made it work with two, but Scott had rigged up one of the empty lockers to act as a kind of sled, dragging it behind them with a rope made of twisted sheets. It wasn't the safest thing in the world, but Scott drove carefully so as to not dislodge the passengers on the makeshift sled.

Carefully enough, in fact, that they made it to the city proper before the 'rope' came away with a ripping sound that was far too loud in the unnatural silence.

"Shit! Hang on, guys!"

This was a horrible idea.

Fortunately, this was Noctis, so he was always up for varying levels of horrible ideas. Normally he was even the one coming up with them.

Everything was working out great. They didn't have to walk at least one way. Could save their energy for actually making their way through the city and the eventual long slog back in case they didn't find any extra fuel.

At least until the sound of the sheet ripping echoed far too loudly into the vast emptiness that surrounded them. And they had about five seconds, if that, before it gave way completely and he and Ignis were sent flying along with the heavy hunk of metal they were currently using.

Noctis had always been quick to react. One of his only true strong suits. And it only took one of those seconds to grab Ignis' hand. Another to pull him in as close as possible. Another two, maybe, to summon engine blade and toss it in the opposite direction.

Warping with both of them took far more energy than it normally would have, and his aim was incredibly terrible. But at least they landed in a near by sand dune instead of being flung out and to who knows where.

After he does the only reasonable thing. Which is to shake the sand from his head and reach out to help pull Ignis up.

"Well. That was close."

As a tactician, Ignis hates when he is stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. On one hand, a long walk to and from the city in the heat and arid conditions is not going to be good for any of them and will drastically slow process toward their goal. On the other hand, considering sheets are only so strong, the idea of dragging a locker attached to one, while creative, is hardly safe. As least sharing the ride with Noctis brings him some comfort since he trusts his friend without question. If something goes wrong, he knows Noct will do his best to help him out. He just needs to be ready to go with whatever happens. That is why, when he first catches the sound of the sheet tearing and feels Noctis pull on his hand, he doesn't resist in the slightest, merely goes along for the ride that, while wild and hardly controlled, is a lot better than having a heavy steal locker fall on either of them.

After they land, he does the best to brush the sand off himself as he can before taking Noctis' hand, grateful for the assistance back to his feet.

"Close, but it could have been much worse. Thank you. Are you all right?"

It's not a particularly well thought out tactic. Then again, almost nothing Noctis ever did fell into that category. But it had gotten them out of the way of the line of fire. Or of a heavy chunk of metal landing directly on top of them.

He only currently had two potions and he really didn't feel like wasting them both within the first hour of this trip.

"You know I've always got your back." And now he was also probably going to play the part of seeing-eye Noctis. At least until they got back to the group. "I'm fine. Just took a lot out of me."

As soon as Scott has gotten the bike mostly stopped, Asch jumps off the back and lands roughly in the sand before sprinting over to the pair. His face and hair are still mostly hidden beneath the sheet wrapped around his head to ward off sun and sand, but the concern is clear enough in his body posture.

His tone could use some work, but then, it usually could. "Are you two alright?" comes out as more of a demand, but his tone softens once he's close enough to actually see them clearly. "No injuries?"

She stopped the bike as quickly as she could, but considering how soft the traction was under the oversized tires, she still had to coast several feet before she could safely come to a complete stop. It left her the last to the party, which meant that she could see them moving freely as she dismounted. So while she had started off intending to rush over to check for injuries, she instead simply walked over with a purpose.

"Well, you two look a lot less broken than the locker..."

She pointed at another sand dune. There was what looked like a street light in the middle of that one, however, and the locker had hit it in such a way that they weren't getting it off again without some serious effort.

"Looks like my plan of looking for a gas station is going to extend to finding a trailer for this thing. We're most of the way there, at least? Asch, you alright getting them the rest of the way?"

"We're covered in sand, but you are correct. No injuries thanks to Noct's quick thinking." The grateful look on his face fades, though, when Scott makes her suggestion.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to split the group up. Not when we don't know what is possibly out there waiting for us," he means no insult to Scott, of course. He just has no fondness for taking unnecessary risk, "It would be safer if we all went looking for a trailer and gas after we finish with the water."

"I think we should listen to Iggy." It would probably go a lot faster if they divided and conquered, but he trusted Ignis's advice above everything else.

"We're gonna need you to watch our backs while we get the water anyway."

"You're right. It would be a lot safer." She nodded, readily agreeing with Ignis' point. But that didn't keep her from continuing. "But we have no idea how long the water is going to take with how spotty your all's hammer space thing is, and I don't know about you, but I don't really want to be stuck here overnight. Plus, the bike will last longer if there's only one person on it and I'd rather not wander around the city on foot on a time limit."

You don't have to like it, Iggy, but her logic is sound.

"How far out are we from where you saw the water treatment plant?"

"About half a mile, maybe a little farther," he answers, looking thoughtful. Taking into account the changes to go around some of the more difficult terrain, given Ignis... "Not more than a full mile."

He pauses, and then glances at Ignis. "I agree with Scott. As far as I've been able to tell, the insects are the only danger around here except for shifting rubble." Not an immediate danger for her, at least. "If there's been something else hiding this long, somehow, then we're not likely to disturb it now if it hasn't already been disturbed."

While the look Ignis gives Noctis is grateful--it feels good to have him at his back again--the look he gives Asch is anything but. Scott is stubborn and that's not exactly a bad thing, except for now when he really doesn't feel it is wise for anyone to be alone. Giving her back up is not what they need if they are going to change her mind.

"The insects are danger enough considering how little we know about them."

He presses his lips into a thin line and then speaks again only after a long moment of thought, "Three hours. The heat of the day will be setting in then and I want you back to check in with us even if you haven't found anything. You can go back out again later once things have cooled down if necessary."

"Don't know about you guys but over grown bugs and falling rubble sounds pretty dangerous to me." He really wishes they could have brought Prompto or Gladio. Noctis had never viewed Ignis as a weakness. There was no one he had ever trusted more to have his back.

But if they were busy and their attention was in their task, it was going to be a lot easier for them to be taken by surprise.

"Three hours. Or I'm gonna come looking for you." And no one wants the amount of complaining that's going to entail.

Carefully, he places his hand on Ignis upper back, just like he had seen Prompto do all of those times.

"Let's get going. Don't want to keep them waiting."

Their fussing was cute and Scott smirked as she turned to stroll back to the bike.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back. I swear, you're almost as bad as 'Bastion...."

Then she was swinging a leg over the seat and coaxing the sputtering engine back to life. It wasn't going to be long for this world if she didn't find some gas. One last wave in their direction, then she was letting out the throttle and gone around the bulk of a building.

"If you get in trouble, just start screaming," Asch says, and amazingly enough it actually is a joke, if the faintest hint of a smile and the tone is anything to go by.

Once Scott is gone, though, it's back to business. He glances at both of the others, before turning his attention more solidly on Ignis. "How confident are you feeling?" he asks. "The route I've been using cuts directly through some of the rubble, but there's longer ways around if you don't feel up for it."

Ignis blindly watches in the direction Scott takes off in. He still doesn't like her going off on her own, but the long gaze is more to give him time to push aside the anger Asch's 'joke' causes than anything.

Wow, everything is just pushing his buttons today, isn't it? Then again, he hates dangerous situations he can't fully plan for and this is most certainly that.

"The shorter route will be fine. Noctis will be at my side."

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Ashes to ashes, mountains will always need to be climbed

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