T H E C R O W 'S NEST

---

Ajax, Erik and Poppy were standing on the bridge leading to their hideout. The three of them watched the retreating backs of the Provisional Government agents. The redhead quietly followed her allies back to the entrance, while Erik and Ajax discussed the merits of the offer they just received. The medic didn't have much to add to their talk. It was a job, they would get a good amount of blood beads. They were increasingly difficult to come by these days. An unknown amount of mistles were dying. The Provisional Government was looking into the cause of this phenomenon. The distribution of blood beads was largely their affair.

They gathered the remaining members of the group inside the Telescope & Strategy Room. In the center of the room the namesake telescope towered over them. It was still in use, mainly to spot threats at great distances, or to explore areas without the need to travel there. This allowed the Sidhe to travel uncharted territories in relative safety, as they were otherwise limited by their oxygen tanks.

Erik stood close to the large stone table holding the map of the surrounding area. He was waiting for everyone to arrive with an excited smile on his face.

"Good morning guys, Ajax, Pops and I just got back from a quick meet up with the Provisional government. They have a potential job for us. There's a dying mistle located in the Ruined City." He pointed to one of the few remaining cities on the map. Next to the marker of the Ruined City, "LOST" was spelled out in somewhat clumsy handwriting.

"The government asked us to retrieve a sample of this mistle once we locate it. When we get the job done they'll pay us a good amount of blood beads, more than we could manage to scrape together ourselves. Pops said we're running short." The revenant's eyes scanned the room at the many faces in attendance. "Thoughts?"

---

---

Lysandra looked up from the telescope control console, twisting partway around to address the question. It was a perfunctory one, of course, but the kind that you always asked as a leader, and of course she had thoughts. She always had thoughts. "I mean, can we really afford not to?" she asked rhetorically. "I don't want you guys turning all bloodlusty on me." She continued. "Besides, with the way Mistle's drying up these days, I should probably get out to it if you can take my gimpy ass along. Hopefully do some salvage with Pops, but at least sample return if it's beyond saving."

As she spoke, her body language might've looked casual enough: twisted partway around, forearm draped over the back of her wheelchair. Yet, there was a definite nervousness about Lys. The fingers of her other hand flicked at one of Marsh Sage's props as the drone rested on her lap. She could feel a tightness building in her shoulders and settling atop her stomach. She furrowed her brow. "You got some coordinates, chief? I see that big scary red 'LOST' in your chicken-scratch." She craned her neck. "Makes me nervous."

“Is it really that bad?” Erik leaned in toward the word scribbled on the map with a pensive expression. It was a rare face he made that never appeared for too long. In fact, he was already beaming again. “Thanks for pointing that out. When I get the time we can redo the map so it's legible for the others!”

Murdered, Lys thought, by kindness. She blushed. "It isn't that bad," she quickly added. "I just like pulling your leg."

Erik was still smiling. "Oh, and your coordinates," he replied, face turning pensive again for a moment as he scanned the map. He was in mission mode now - always friendly and helpful, but professional: focused. Lys admired the way that he could switch gears. It reminded her of her father. Erik stuck a pin through the map, into the corkboard beneath it. "N 50.91721° E 5.91775°," he announced almost... cheerily. "Hope I got that right."

"So do I," she responded with a hint of a grin. "Or this is gonna be quite the adventure. Thanks chief." She let her smile fade. N 50.91721° E 5.91775°... N 50.91721° E 5.91775° Lysandra repeated mentally, pulling the lever that unlocked the telescope's mounting and cranking the handle that opened the dome. With a shudder, the great metal orifice, with its canvas of patches and rust, grated open. The mighty old Victorian-era instrument at its centre groaned on its bearings, swinging into place as she entered the coordinates.

Releasing the brakes on her wheelchair, she rolled up to the eyepiece and peered through. Nothing. She didn't like seeing nothing when there was clearly something. She adjusted the view a bit, manually, arm aching a little as she turned the control wheel. She'd been at archery practice all morning. Then, she spotted it. Lys' eyes widened. Sure as they were about to go on a mission, there was a great big pack of Lost passing through her field of view. They loped, stalked, and shambled by. She counted at least a dozen and suppressed a shudder. "Well, this is pretty," she announced, looking up and twisting a bit. "Lotta Lost there." She swept some hair from her eyes. "Low level, but lots. I counted thirteen, but I think we can count on more." She released her brakes again and backed away. "If anyone wants to take a look, you're welcome to." She gestured towards the eyepiece momentarily before rolling up to the table, apprehension nibbling at her insides.

It had been a few months since Lysandra had gone into the field, but this wasn't just a normal supply run that she could twist Akaia's rubber arm into doing. There was actual research and sample retrieval. Back in the walking days, she'd have been jonesing to go: filled with more anticipation than apprehension, but that was neither here nor there. You're part of a team, she scolded herself. You pull your weight or you're deadweight. You're deadweight, you're dead... or someone else is because of you. She rested her elbows on the table's smooth stone edges. The part without the corkboard and map was always nice and cool. "That said, I think we can handle it." She forced a confident smile that was only half-fake. She trusted these people, and they'd picked up quite a few useful new members over the past few weeks... who she trusted less, but there was safety in numbers, at least. "Let's... roll, Commune?"

---

Place(s): The Crows' Nest - Telescope & Strategy Room
Time: Feb 23rd, 2057 - Morning
Interaction(s): All members in the room

---

Cerise was in the garden taking care of the plants there while Ajax, Erik, and Poppy were talking with the Provisional Government agents. Soft gentle humming emanated from within her mouth as she slowly moved through the garden, making sure all the plants were healthy and in good conditions. She held a notebook and a pen, taking thorough and concise notes as she inspected each plant. It wasn't a quick process, and some might even saw it as boringly tedious. Fortunately, she had always been quite fond and curious of plant lives in general, and thus were able to enjoy the process that she volunteered to do almost daily.

"And that's all accounted for. I'm so glad you're all healthy and well today too." She smiled gently as she spoke, finishing her inspection of the plants. At around the same time, the calls for everyone to gather inside the Strategy Room were made. "Oh. Looks like I've got to go now. I'll see you guys again soon. Bye~" She then started skipping briskly toward the entrance of the garden, where she took off the gardening boots and exchanged them with her own shoes. From there she continued to head to the Strategy Room. Passing through her and Akaia's room, she saw that Akaia's crow Licorice was perching on its stand, making her enter the room instead. "Licorice! When did you get back?" Smiling wide at the crow, Cerise held her right hand up as she stood beside the stand, and the crow then hopped over from its stand to the back of the hand. "If you're here all relaxed and content, then that means Akaia is fine and should be back soon as well. Hehe, finally. I was wondering when she'll be back. Anyway, you're back just in time. Let's go, everyone's called to the Strategy Room~"

Now with Licorice perching on her right hand, Cerise left her room and promptly entered the Strategy Room. "Good morning!" She immediately exclaimed in greeting upon entering with a big smile on her face. "Hope everyone's doing fine today. Oh, and Akaia should be with us soon. Right Licorice?" She giggled briefly, patting Licorice's head gently a few times with two fingers. "So, what are we here to talk about? Any good news?" She then walked over to the table with the map, listening quietly as Erik explained about the job offered to them by the Provisional Government.

"Nobody here is going to go 'bloodlusty' on you, Lysandra." She giggled softly, finding Lysandra's choice of words funny. "That said, yes, obviously we should do this. The incentives aside, the things going on about Mystles drying up recently is a really big concern for just about everyone. If we can contribute to finding out reasons and solutions for this problem, then there's just no reason to not do it. Also, the map's just fine. Don't pull big brother's leg too much, okay Lysandra? Hehe~" Then, while Lysandra worked on the telescope, Cerise analyzed the map to mentally check the notes and markers added to the map and crosschecking the information with the ones she and Akaia had put on to the diorama in their room. As the conversation then moved to the presence of lost within the 'mission area', she turned away from the map to join in on the discussion.

"The Ruined City is always full of the typical Lost, so no surprise there. Over the years, their numbers just keep on growing because... Well, you all know why. Still, their senses aren't even that sharp, so it's always been easy to stay hidden from them while scavenging or scouting in the area. And if we ended up having to fight. Well... With all of us here, I'm sure we'll do just fine! We just have to watch each other's backs as always. So yes," She smiled wide and made a thumb up sign with her left hand as she finished her words. "I suppose I'm ready if we're going to 'roll', hehe~"

---

Bam!

Bam! Bam!

Bam!

Bam, bam, bam!

The impacts, dulled by the closed door, sounded out into the main hall of the Crow's Nest, audible to anyone who happened to walk past. Inside, Vincent's fists slammed into the worn leather of his punching bag as he got his morning workout in. He was a recent addition to the group, having joined up just the day before, yet he had been quick to make himself at home, which would be obvious to anyone who saw the pile of clothes that had already somehow accumulated in the corner. The thought of being part of a team was still weird to him, but if it gave him a decent bed and a roof over his head, he'd work with the Lost if he had to.

It was during a break in his workout that he heard the gathering call. "Well, first day and it looks like I'm already gonna get some action," he mused. He quickly cleaned himself and threw on one of his cleaner shirts, a black sleeveless shirt, before he stepped out of his room. Given that he still had yet to get his bearings, he watched as some of his new comrades headed toward the rear of the building and followed suit. When he entered the room, he listened to Erik's explanation of what their job was, then looked up at the towering telescope when he heard Lys invite those interested to take a look. Eager to see what they (read: he) was up against, Vincent walked over and looked through the eyepiece. When he saw the Lost horde, he let out a low whistle and grinned.

"Yeah, I've got a question," he replied as he lifted his eye away from the telescope. He leaned against it, his tattooed right arm resting against the cold metal, and asked, "When do we head out? I'm excited to knock some Lost heads together!"

Dallas had spent his morning staying occupied. There were always spots around the Crow's Nest that needed to be swept, mopped, or wiped. Everyone on the team was considerate enough to pick up after themselves, but with how much work had to be done it was impossible for the base to be 100% spotless. He'd already done a thorough sweep of the observatory last night so there wasn't much need to tidy up. Dallas was mostly done with spot cleaning by 8:30 am. The next task he chose to complete was taking care of laundry.

Dallas gathered a sizeable pile of soiled clothing and chucked it into a plastic basket outside Medical's water closet. This was not a typical laundry duty however; each piece of clothing was stained the color of rust by someone's blood. The pile wasn't that high, because the rest had been torn into rags by claws and teeth. After rinsing everything in water, Dallas lined up as many shirts as he could on an unused aluminum table. He took a salt shaker he'd borrowed from the kitchen and applied salt to every bloody spot he could find. At some point in time Dallas had been taught to do this in order to loosen blood stains.

It would take time for the sodium to do its job, so he settled into a chair and retrieved a small booklet from his pants pocket. A few days ago Akaia had offered it to him mumbling something about an "eye-key". Some pages were damaged and the color was fading, but much of it was perfectly legible. It was a picture manual which Dallas assumed had been written for kids. Each page of instructions showed the reader how to build a hideout using things like furniture and blankets.

Förtress? What country was this written in? Dallas pondered over idle thoughts like these while scanning the illustrations. It was funny to imagine the team getting together to replace all the barricades with pillow forts. While he was mentally simulating cutting holes in old sheets, Ajax happened to pass by and give him the signal for a strategy meeting. It's time for our next mission then... Laundry will have to wait.

Dallas arrived at the telescope room after a couple minutes. He quietly showed himself in and returned Erik's friendly greeting with a "Good morning." Dallas patiently listened to the senior team members give the briefing on the provisional government's request with his arms folded across his chest. Thanks to Lysandra they had a good idea of how many Lost would be within their zone of activity, but there were plenty of other dangers to think about. Not knowing how far into planning this operation was, Dallas figured he would bring it up while opinions were being solicited.

"I'm just as ready for action as Vincent, but I'm worried about the conditions out there. The mistle are responsible for keeping the cities clear of miasma right? If we're going into a place where the mistle are dying, then we have to make preparations for fighting while the miasma is thick."

It had only been a few days since Ionna arrived at the peculiarly-named "Crow's Nest" base of operations, but the white-haired Revenant sure acclimatized herself quick. She had already claimed a spare room for herself and socialized with most of the Commune-ity, some more than others such as the hardworking and compassionate Erik, the silent and thoughtful Ajax, and the aloof and stern Poppy just to name a few. In fact, these were the first three people she met here and for a good reason, the trio were the group's leader figure in lieu of a lack of official hierarchy. Oh, there was also the squad’s gadget-person, Lysandra, who seemed to be super smart, the smartest one around even. She was currently using the big telescope, using her big brain to scout the landscape even though she couldn't walk.

While the grown-ups were discussing important stuff, Ionna was lounging on the floor, literally lying on the hard stone tiles while her hands held up a book above her eyes, a graphic novel that she recently nabbed from the library. Its contents retelling the story of a human boy who was raised by apes and grew up thinking he's one... until he met another human that he began to realize this odd sense of kinship he had with this strange creature, who was hairless like him! "Oooh..." The petite girl made a little noise of curious excitement, prompting her companion crow - Laplace - to tilt his head in shared curiosity, beady eyes focusing at the book while his feet were perched on Ionna's scalp. Alas, he couldn't find out what was so interesting about a bunch of black squiggles-on-white.

But, you know what's interesting? Upon Cerise and Licorice's entrance, Laplace immediately noticed them and took off from Ionna's head to beeline at the latter, no doubt much to the older corvid's chagrin. "Squawk squawk~" The chipper young crow - barely older than a year - landed near his kin then tap-tapped his spindly feet to get all up in Licorice's personal space. His head twitched here and there, a common set of movements to corvids and birds in general. Indeed, it wouldn't take a genius to see that he was excited to finally be able to meet his people; while the young crow would always be grateful to Ionna for saving his life and welcomed the idea of staying with her for the rest of his life, he wouldn't squander the chance to relate with his kindred, especially when the opportunity presented itself. Crows are pack animals for a reason after all. The place sure could use more crows around, particularly considering its name and all that.

While the two crows - one-sidedly - played around, Ionna shifted her attention away from the book and tilted her head up even further, ending up with an upside-down perspective of the room, apparently not minding it in the least. She noticed that two more had joined them, the chipper and kindhearted Cerise, followed shortly after by the tough and vigilant Dallas. "Morning, Cherry! Morning, Dallas!" The floor-bound girl curled a grin, sporting the two elongated sharp fangs behind her upper lip before returning her attention to the book... or not. As when the eager and dauntless Vincent exclaimed about knocking some Lost heads, Ionna promptly put her book down, stood up, dusted herself off, and dashed to take position beside the central stone table, in that specific order. "Yeah! When do we head out, guys?!" The balls of her feet shifted up and down as golden slitted eyes scoured over the map.

Though she was missing her signature gear; coat, gauntlets, horns, and tail-whip, the diminutive revenant still looked ready if a fight should happen right then and there.

Location: The Telescope & Strategy room
Interactions: Dallas, Vincent, Ionna, Akaia

---

Poppy calmly assessed the group's reaction to the assignment. Lysandra wanted to join them. She had been cooped up inside for the past couple of months so this didn't come as a surprise. It would require more planning, different tactics and overall better coordination. Lysandra was undoubtedly going to take care of most of these adjustments herself, case in point she was already at the telescope, checking out the coordinates Erik gave her. The medic wanted the scientist's genius with them out in the field, especially if they needed to study a dying mistle.

She didn't acknowledge the questions on when they would be leaving or the threat of the Miasma. Instead she retrieved a piece of paper from the table next to Erik. She started on a list of supplies, writing it all down in neat handwriting. They were taking the van which meant there was more room to pack ammunition, weapons and medical supplies. While the conversations between the Commune members were happening around her Poppy continued writing undisturbed.

It was the surprise arrival of Akaia that made her drop her pencil and list. She was not supposed to be back yet. Poppy scrutinized her fellow Sidhe from a distance. Even from across the room she could tell Akaia looked more gaunt than usual. Something like this did deserve her immediate attention. With her list in hand she made a beeline for Dallas, the resident custodian.

"Dallas, I need you to get the van ready with supplies after the meeting is over." She looked up at his statuesque face, set in its usual stern expression. Poppy handed him the list. The medic didn't wait around for a confirmative yes, it wasn't a question.

While on her way to Akaia she issued some orders to the others.
"Vincent, Ionna one or both of you can help Dallas. Leave the medical supplies to me. I'll set them ready and let you know if I need help moving them."

The medic was standing face to face with the Sidhe scout, being slightly taller. Up close she affirmed her earlier suspicion of malnourishment.
"Welcome back Akaia."

Akaia was staring at the pet crow of Ionna, who was perched on Cerise. Introductions could wait for later. Poppy took Akaia's hands and lifted them up, spreading her arms to the side. The ill fitting robes and wraps concealed most of her body, but Poppy knew where to look. She pulled softly on the skin of Akaia's arm, the fold of skin stayed up for too long.

"You need to eat and drink..."
"Come with me to the medical area, I have some squash soup with lentils. I want you to eat at least two bowls of it before we leave"

There wasn't much room to argue. While she didn't carry the same physical presence as Erik and Ajax, Poppy was intimidating in a different way. It often caught people off guard, especially ones who didn't know her well.

@dreamingflowers @Exit @pantothenic

While the meeting was underway, Ionna's supercharged senses - a common trait of Revenants, even more so for ABs - detected the telltale signs of someone or something approaching the Strategy Room long before the slightly ajar door was pushed from the other side. "Hmmm...?" The purple revenant heard the shuffling of light footsteps, a whiff of earthen smell, and a soft stuttering voice; as a result, her gaze was already trained at the door when a person entered the room, someone she never met before, and justifiably, Ionna's first assumption was that the dark-haired earth-smelling woman was one of the Commune. She was clad in clothes and wrappings that looked quite well-worn, damaged even, and her movements betrayed her exhaustion. She must have been travelling for a while, huh?

Meanwhile, Laplace incessantly tried to get Licorice's attention, pestering the older crow with his overbearing friendliness, not caring in the slightest that the other corvid made it painfully clear that he wasn't having any of it. "Squawk~?" Although he did pause when Licorice turned his head at another one of those wingless-featherless creatures. Oh! It seemed this particular wingless was to the bigger crow like Ionna to himself! Interesting, so they both had saviors, huh? This fact fueled Laplace enthusiasm further as his sense of kinship intensified.

"Oh, hello!” Ionna waved a right arm at the new arrival, now that she directed her attention at her in particular, the petite revenant finally recognized that she smelled like Poppy. They were both plant-people then! Er... what was the correct term again? "Si... Sid... Sidhe?" The girl pondered out loud. However, her train of thought was interrupted when the redheaded plant-perso-... - Sidhe - specifically called her name; something about helping Dallas pack things up along with Vincent. "Sure!" She answered immediately, without a shred of protest before turning to the third tallest person in the room, "Just tell me what to lift, Dallas." A confident huff followed shortly after.

Then, her attention was taken once more by the raven-haired Sidhe, whose name was revealed to be "Akaia" by Poppy; she could hear their conversation just fine even from this distance after all. It's a bit of a shame that Ionna couldn't remember anything from her past life, disallowing her to have a mental comparison between her senses before versus after. Oh, didn't Akaia say something along the lines of wanting to meet the 'new friend' to Cerise? That “new friend” must be her, right? Well, herself and Vincent, Ionna supposed. Sure, she'd love to indulge that wish, Cerberus' friends are her friends too! Good people should stick with each other.

Although, Akaia looked quite spent and Poppy's verdict confirmed it further; Ionna certainly wouldn't wish to get in the way of her much-needed meal and rest, introductions and pleasantries could come later. For now, she had stuff to pack!

---

Vincent had opened his mouth to add to the conversation, but stopped when he heard the sound of someone approaching. From the look on the ashen-haired girl's face told him she noticed it, as well. A moment later, the doors opened to reveal another Sidhe. Shortly after she appeared, Poppy seemed to switch gears. Vincent had heard she was the resident medic, so she must have noticed something about the new Sidhe that flipped her switch from 'leader' to 'doctor.' She paused for just a moment to give an order to the stony-faced man, before telling Vincent and Ionna to help out with loading the van. Vincent grinned and said, "Sure thing, boss! We'll be ready to go before by the time you're done."

Before he joined up with the Commune, Vincent had always thought it was easier on his own. Sure, he was a people person, but when he was on his own, the only thing he really had to worry about was gathering enough blood beads for himself. He figured the resources a group would need, combined with the possibility of infighting, made it seem like more trouble than it was worth. It was more on a whim, combined with the desire to sleep in a warm bed, that Vincent had bothered joining the group at Crow's Nest. After he saw how well everyone seemed to get along, though, he found that his reservations had started to abate, even though so little time had passed.

He was shaken from his musings when he heard Dallas' name and quickly scanned the room. As new as he was, he still had yet to learn everyone's name, so when he found the source of the voice, a young ashen-haired girl, talking to an older, serious-looking man, he figured they must be Ionna and Dallas, respectively. He took a moment to look down at Lys, whom he was still standing next to, and winked at her before he pushed away from the telescope. When he approached Dallas and Ionna, he said, "Alright, looks like I'm all yours. Sooner we get this done, sooner I get to have some fun!"

---

While the meeting was going on, Desmond had quietly walked into the strategy room, not making a fuss or saying anything. Just silent walking into the room and taking a spot against the wall. Leaning against it, his eyes diligently watching the group as the meeting went underway. So it is dying mistle located in the Ruined City, eh? Desmond thought to himself. Never been that before, and it would be nice to have more blood beads. Not for his sake, obviously, but for most of his teammates. Since he is not a fan of being forced to give regular blood donations when he stayed with the Provisional government, at least they let him take Amelia with him when he joined this group.

That was when Desmond shifted his gaze to Lysandra. The only other human in the group. The main reason that he feels better about being this group of mainly Revenants. It helps to keep him a bit sane as he waits for his sister to wake up. If only he knew when the people at the Provisional government said that she will wake up eventually. But, it would be nice it is was going to be soon than later.

When the meeting was over, and he was given no order. Desmond briefly made himself known, "Sounds like a plan, and I will ready real soon. Just need to do one thing before we go, and it should not take long." Desmond said with a small smile and left the room.

Heading down the corridor and straight towards his room. Upon opening the door, Desmond went straight for his sister's bed. Which she was laid out carefully under the sheets. Desmond walked slowly towards her and kneed down to her level. Speaking so softly that no one outside of the room could hear him. "Hey Amelia, it is me, Desmond. Just here to say I am going to go on a mission today. To a place called the Ruined City, and I should be back soon, okay?" Not excepting a response but wishes for one. "So I may not be around when you wake up, so I am going to leave this note nearby so when you wake up. You know what has happened and hope you do not wander off where I can not find you."Desmond takes the note that was resting at the nearby bookcase and places it on the nightstand. "Wish me luck, sister, and goodbye for now." Desmond stood back up and as he turned to leave his room. He took one last look at his sleeping sister before leaving the room.

Now making a sad sigh before heading to the armory to get his gear. Hopefully, when she wakes up, it will be when he is here and not out during a mission or something. Either way, time to focus on the mission and traveling to the Ruined City. "Hmmm, maybe I should see if Dallas, Vincent, and Ionna want some extra help with getting things ready." Thinking out loud, so once he got his gear, he headed back to the strategy room to see if he could lead a hand. It is the least he can do with pulling his weight around here.

---

Place(s): The Crows' Nest - Telescope & Strategy Room
Time: Feb 23rd, 2057 - Morning
Interaction(s): Akaia (@Exit) & Poppy (@dreamingflowers)

---

"Oh. Hello there. Laplace, yes? Hehe, you want to play with Licorice?" Cerise spoke to the new, younger crow that had perched itself onto her right hand beside Licorice. She then watched on as the crows interacted with one another, giggling lightly upon seeing Licorice not quite appreciating the invasion of its personal space by the eager younger crow. Cerise then looked at the owner of the young crow, replying her greeting with a cheerful greeting of her own before returning to watching the two crows. It was then that Licorice suddenly turned and squawked "aKAAaaa!" as it spotted the return of its owner, Akaia. This, of course, caused Cerise to notice of Akaia's entry to the room as well. Cerise's smile widened even more as she happily waved her left hand at Akaia. "Akaia! There you are! Finally. I'm starting to miss you, it's so weird to be sleeping in the room all alone, you know?"

As Cerise started walking towards Akaia, the other Sidhe of the group reached Akaia first and started inspecting her. A few words later and Poppy started taking Akaia with her to head to the medical area to take care of her.

Cerise, noticing that nobody seemed to have any particular need of her help with preparations for the mission, promptly decided to follow the two Sidhe, catching up to walk beside her close friend. "Mmhmm! Yes. While you were away, we had the fortune of having Ionna and Vincent join us. I'm quite sure they'll fit with us all just fine, hehe. Oh and, my, you looks really tired, Kaia. Is that why Poppy is taking you with her?" Then she turned at Poppy to ask her a question. "Can I help with anything, Poppy?" It was something she asked not only out of kindness, as despite the smile on her face, it was quite obvious that she was concerned about her best friend's well-being; something that she had always expressed whenever not seeing Akaia for more than a single day.

_{Location | Crow’s Nest - Telescope & Strategy Room
Time | Febuary 23^rd - Morning
Interaction | Various Squadmates}

---

Ajax had been largely quiet up to this point; ever since they left the presence of the Provisional Government’s representatives. While they came to The Commune with an offer that would benefit both parties, Ajax had his suspicions. Why not just send a team of their revenants to retrieve the mistle sample…? Potentially another attempt to subtly recruit them to Cerberus’ ranks again. It hadn’t been the first time that they came to convince him and Erik to return. However, Ajax’s mission was not complete, making the notion currently unthinkable.

Still, as Erik had noted on the way back, they did need the blood beads. While they did have two humans, for the sake of their respective health, it wasn’t ideal to use them as a source of sustenance unless absolutely necessary. Thus, going into the Ruined City was going to be the action.

While in the room, Ajax had kept quiet as the others offered their comments and questions. The city in question was close, one that they had only scavenged the outskirts of prior to this. He found himself agreeing with Dallas’ statement regarding the miasma situation. To be lost to his rage, but it only took a small contraction of the substance to trigger it. While true that it had been years since the last incident, even now the voice of thirst and fury whispered in the back of his mind.

This led to thoughts of routes through the city, which had high concentrations of Lost prowling. Ideally, despite their new members’ eagerness to fight, lower populous areas would be best. Thirteen visible via the telescope implied an intermediate population, as there were always more that they couldn't see until they got there. Returning to his thoughts from earlier, it was entirely possible that the provisional government had sent in their own recon teams with negative results.

He was soon to speak but he caught a new scent that gave him pause. Focusing in on it, there was a familiar earthiness to it. Recognizing it not to be a new scent at all, Ajax’s head turned in synch with Akaia’s entrance. Briefly did he check her for injury, of which he could see nothing notable, but that was where Poppy’s expertise came in. The Sword greeted her with a simple nod in acknowledgement before she had been whisked away.

With his hands in his jacket pockets, he stepped towards where the map had been placed. Barely managing to see past Erik’s terrible handwriting, Ajax studied it briefly before eyeing the sempiternal sitter and posing a question:

”Given what you saw, which sort of the Lost did you see the most of…?”

Location: Medical area
Interactions: Akaia, Cerise

---

Poppy felt Akaia's slender arms creep around her waist. She endured the hug and managed a rare smile her friend could not see. It quickly disappeared when she resorted to scolding Akaia for her lack of constraint.
"Akaia keep your voice down!, Amelia is still resting"

Akaia had replied to the name of the girl with an understanding nod, realizing in that moment that they were passing her room. She held her hand over her right eye and repeated the name in a whispered voice the sounded exactly like Desmond's.

"Amelia."

Poppy freed herself from Akaia's weak hold with a frown on her face. Sometimes she felt like she was caring for a bunch of children. Ever since Desmond arrived with his sister she made it very clear that the medical area should be an oasis of rest and calm, even more so than usual.

It wasn't long after they both arrived in the medical bay that Akaia found herself seated in front of a familiar bowl of soup. The soup was thick with a very unappealing muddy color. The strong scent of several herbs was overpowering any of the sweetness of the pumpkin that was somewhere in there. Steam rose from the bowl, which was nearly the size of Akaia's head. The steam wafted around the girl effortlessly, trapping her in a heat that stuck to her skin and tasted... funny.

"Eat up..."

Poppy went on to busy herself with readying the medical supplies for the mission to the Ruined City. By the time Poppy would return to her ward, she would find an emptied bowl, a waiting girl and a peculiar looking plastic box with a red marking that looked like a cross.

Meanwhile Cerise also joined them. She looked at the always cheerful young woman.
"You can make sure Akaia finishes all of her soup and at least half of that jug of water." A second bowl of the nauseating soup sat on the table next to both girls, looming at them.

Poppy spotted something else on the table. A box with a red cross on the top, a toy first aid kit. She picked it up. The outside looked worse for wear. There was also something inside. The clasps still worked and after some prying she managed to open it. The contents were not what she expected. A deep red crystal drew her immediate attention. She took it out of the box and held it in the palm of her hand. It was unevenly shaped, with jagged edges. A vestige.

Poppy's eyes shifted to Cerise and back to the vestige in her palm, seemingly contemplating something. She went on the study the remaining items. There was a crayon drawing of a peacock butterfly along with a torn up bandage roll, glass shards, a sewing needle with a bundle of thread which looked like hair. The box was likely used to keep actual medical supplies along with personal affects. After she'd put everything back Poppy looked at Akaia with a hint of a smile.

"Thank you Akaia, I'll fill up the box with new supplies. We can still use it."

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Lysandra did not answer the questions put to her right away. Sometimes it was more important to know where they were coming from first. As Erik stepped up to the telescope and occupied himself with peering through it momentarily, she glanced up at Ajax and narrowed her eyes in concern. "You seem even more brooding than usual, Trenchcoat. Something up with the Cerbs?" She paused. "You think they're using us as cannon fodder or are they trying to lure you back in?" Furrowing her brow, Lys glanced Erik's way for a split second. Even he seemed a little bit... more concerned than usual.

“Perhaps," Ajax replied, "Or they come to us to do a job that they couldn’t, and would rather not spend more resources...” He paused, eyeing the ground momentarily. “Or lose anymore; feeding the city.”

Lys pursed her lips and arched an eyebrow. "So, option one, basically." She backed up a couple of pushes from the table and grinned impishly. "Don't worry, big guy, I got your back." She winked and let the smile fade. "But as for the threats..." she settled her hands in her lap for a moment, not sure what to do with them. She shrugged. "There's lots. Mostly thralls - the usual assortment of melee weapons, but a couple have guns." She twisted to glance over her shoulder at Erik. "Only saw a couple of grimes, but they're usually in the dark or enclosed spaces. You know the drill with those by now."

Truth be told, Lysandra had spent a good amount of time focused on the terrain, mostly just seeing if it was something she could reasonably traverse. She'd identified three tough spots and that meant Iron Horse but, in practice, there always ended up being a couple of unseen ones. She was just grateful that people here didn't huff and puff and make a big deal of it. If she needed a boost once or twice, she could get one. She blinked once and found Ajax's eyes. There was more. "Thing is," she admitted, "I saw a big steel cylinder... right near the mistle. At least... I think that's what it was." She tucked some hair behind an ear. "I hope, because it if isn't..." she trailed off, wondering if Ajax might come to the same conclusion that she had.

The phrasing of her words clearly caught Ajax’s attention outright. “…If it isn’t, we must be ready… In a dream scenario, we lure it away. Since we don’t have the luxury of dreaming, it should be our quickest members taking the sample...Suppose we might see how your failsafes for my mask stand under pressure…” Were his words of reply before starting off, presumably to his armory.

"Ha. Ha. Ajax," she called after his retreating back. "Better go sharpen your edge some more." She rolled her eyes. Seriously, who says 'must' that much, she thought, secretly appreciating his ripostes nonetheless. Pivoting on the spot, Lys took a few pushes toward Erik, letting herself coast to a stop. "How 'bout you, Gramps? Notice anything?"

He paused and looked up, twisting to regard her, and he was smiling, of course, like he always was. When Lys smiled that much, the muscles in her face got tired. “Just saw most of the regulars. The Provisional Government is giving us a freebie for once.”

She forced a smile back for him, tempted to ask for another look, but she was worried that'd come across as paranoid. Even in the off chance that the cylinder was what she feared it was, she told herself that Ajax was on it. He'd have it covered, and they had numbers now: literally four more people since the last time she'd gone into the field. "Almost sounds too good to be true," she replied, keeping her tone skeptical but light. She drew in a breath and exhaled. They were the only ones left in the room. "I'll catch you soon. Don't get fossilized there, hmm?" Lys turned and wheeled out the door.

The cracked and battered floor tiles caused her casters to shudder as she rolled over them, and Lys made almost a game out of dodging them and sticking to the exposed concrete below. Agility was something she'd worked on extensively last summer and fall and, on top of some mean-looking biceps, it had started to pay dividends. It wasn't in any way comparable to how she'd been before and never would be, so she'd forced herself to finally let go of those unproductive comparisons to a Lysandra who was both irrelevant and not coming back. She darted and slewed from side to side, hair flicking back and forth, fingers light on her wheels, ready to dodge those hated spots of roughly tiled floor.

She kept this up, a grown child and totally unself-conscious, all the way into her room. Lys was a quick packer, mostly because she kept her space organized. Two pre-prepped bundles of clothing, two headsets, four walkie-talkies, her battery bag, portable toolkit... she paused and rolled across the room: Journal. She opened a crate: Dried, dehydrated food. She pulled a drawer out of a shelf: Two cheap little quadcopters for scouting. Soldering iron, pistol... She took a moment to secure her quiver to her wheelchair's leg frame. She twisted around and felt like a contortionist as she looped, tied, and velcroed the straps that held her bow to her backrest. It wasn't much of a backrest, to be honest, but a taller one would get in the way of her elbows while pushing.

It would also get in the way of dressing, which Lys presently did. She kept the black leggings but swapped her loose cutoff t-shirt for something a bit warmer and more form-fitting. And not the boobs-popping-out shirt. She considered the motorcycle armour, but it was heavy and sweaty and she'd need to be mobile, so it went into her duffel for now and she threw her favourite brown leather jacket on instead. Knee pads? she pondered. Yup, knee pads. You can never have enough storage. She also anticipated being de-chaired at least a couple of times, as usually happened, and it'd be nice not to smack her knees, feeling or not. Reaching down, Lysandra picked up one of her legs and slid the knee pad up its length, settling it around her knee, before doing the same for the other one. They weighed next to nothing and she tried not to scowl. So fucking skinny now. Her thighs were like deflated balloons, her calves like twigs. As much as she'd grown used to the atrophy, there were still moments where the dissonance between reality and a slow-to-change mental self-image was overwhelming. She shook her head to clear the thought and slipped on some leg warmers for more pseudo-pocket space. After stuffing her feet into a pair of ankle boots, she clipped her choker around her neck, pocketed her medallion, and grabbed a beanie and settled it atop her head. She took a second to look in the mirror and adjust her hair beneath the hat. She looked better without bangs, she decided, trying to distract herself. Nope, stop, she scolded. Deep breath. Nothing to be scared of. Nothing you haven't done dozens of times before. You've got this. She gathered her bags and the Lysandra who emerged from her room was a much-encumbered one: dressed for a mission but carefully balancing a duffel bag on her lap as she made her way towards the van.

It was sitting in its usual place, doors open, bags and equipment piled around it. She admired the lift kit, bumper guard, and skid plate that she'd fashioned for it with Erik: a job well done. After a couple of seconds, however, she noticed that there was nobody actually there, loading it. "Where are my galoots?" she muttered to herself, half-audible under her breath. Annoyed, Lys cast about for them, but there was only a distant Akaia being attended to by Poppy and consoled by Cerise for having to ingest that abominable thing that Pops termed 'soup'. The human made a point of avoiding that area, lest she be forced into 'caloric intake'. Pulling up to the open rear doors, Lys clicked her brakes on, hefted the bag, and tossed it inside. She couldn't be bothered with anything else. It bugged her. Her instinct was to assiduously organize every aspect of the interior of the van, but that was a lot of work, she'd need her energy today, and she still had the Immortals to go and load up and her specialty arrows - recently crafted - to retrieve. Lysandra backed away and made for the nearby storage room, where all of the goodies were kept and where she could already hear voices coming from.

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Travel: Telescope Room -> Supply Room
Characters involved: Vincent, Ionna, Desmond

Dallas felt his inner ear twitch as he heard someone walking towards him. He turned his head slightly so he could search for the source, while still appearing engaged with the others who were actively discussing the mission. It took less than a second for him to identify Poppy approaching with papers in hand. Between the wings and the shockingly red hair, Dallas estimated that you could spot her coming from at least 3 miles away. The bundle of papers nearly poked him in the nose as Poppy made the pass off.

"Dallas, I need you to get the vans ready with supplies." Dallas opened his mouth to reply, but the only thing he could see was Poppy's back. He passively observed her as she gave orders to the newcomers before ushering Akaia elsewhere. This one-way speaking relationship of theirs began not long after he arrived, and to some extent Dallas understood that it was his fault. She'd asked him to show restraint and stick to the plan so many times now. He got himself hurt far too much. He couldn't see the bigger picture and rushed into action when people were in danger. Perhaps if the majority of their interactions weren't doctor visits he'd be able to get a word in.

Crossbow bolts, gunpowder, rifle cartridges, batteries, backup armaments... Dallas reviewed the handwritten document, trying to remember where to locate the items needed for the mission. The volume of supplies Poppy requested would not be hard to move, but it would take a long time for one person to sort it all. Just as he was wondering whether or not to ask for extra hands, Ionna and Vincent came to him smiling and offered their help. Their timing was too perfect... I guess Poppy roped them into this too. Dallas quietly separated himself from the meeting and walked towards them.

"Alright, you two follow me. We've got a lot of gear to move." Dallas nodded to the pair and made for the exit. Thankfully the vans were parked right next to storage, so this would be an easy job for a team of three. On his way out, he spied Desmond looking hopefully towards this or that person. Dallas rubbed his chin and wondered if his human friend was looking for something to do. He determined that it couldn't hurt to ask, so he called out to Desmond while passing by. "Desmond, me and a couple of others are on the way to pack supplies. You can come with us if you need a job to keep you busy." Dallas gave him a thumbs up and continued to the next destination with Ionna and Vincent in tow.

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Edited March 1st - Single van redacted to multiple vans

@pantothenic @Daxam @Theyra

"Alright, you two follow me. We've got a lot of gear to move."

"You got it, Boss!" The ashen-haired Revenant perkily nodded, if she was wearing her whip-tail right now, one could imagine it'd be swaying in enthusiastically excitement; they were going on a mission to make the world a better place after all, how could anyone not be pumped at that? Well, except the Lost maybe, but as far as she knew, no one here was a Lost, hah! As the hornless Ionna went along with Dallas and Vincent, the contrast was almost comical as the two Revenants stood several heads taller than her yet they were all assigned to the same duty of hard labor.

Along the way, they encountered a certain one-eyed individual, the only other human member of the Commune, one who carried a heavy burden on his shoulders trying to pull his sister from the cold grip of death. "Hey, Desmond!" Ionna waved at him, "I hope Amelia wakes up soon~" She grinned, exposing her twin fangs and radiating genuine innocence, just a girl who thought that Amelia waking up would cheer her brother up and thus hoping it'd occur sooner than later. Desmond often looked quite tired and sad, and to the petite revenant, the sole reason was obviously Amelia. If she turned out to be okay, then he wouldn't be sad anymore.

Whether Desmond agreed on the offer to help or not, the group continued on their way. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the Storage Room & Armoury section of the three-pronged base; plenty of materials, tools, and supplies were all neatly stacked up, each in their own categorized sections. Ionna immediately began to work, beelining for the heaviest crates first as her wiry limbs effortlessly stacked up three crates before picking said stack up with both hands as if they weighed nothing. To a layman, seeing someone as hale as Dallas and Vincent performing the same feat wouldn't be too much of a stretch of the imagination, but witnessing a four foot nothing skinny girl doing it would certainly drop a jaw or two; one should never judge a book by its cover, and the saying couldn't be anymore true for Revenants.

"Hup hup! Come on, guys!" If not due to the danger of jostling around and accidentally dropping a cargo, Ionna would be more than capable to just run toward the van, but even she had the sense of caution to take her time. Once at the van, she'd put the stacked crates down and then handle them one by one to fit each into the vehicle, then rinse and repeat until everything in the shopping list was crossed off. Between herself, Dallas, and Vincent, this should be done in a jiffy.