@daylit; audio.

[sunborne]

Hi! I’m Daylight. Um… I know a lot’s been happening and we’re all trying to figure out what we can do to help. It’s actually why I’m making this post now, honestly.

A few months back we had this scavenger hunt event. It was run by Ms. Robin- [ he falters here, the memory of her latest post still fresh in his processors.

he shakes his helm, grateful that no one can see him, and continues on: ] -and I got something for participating in it. It was a phrase from the forest spirits' language. The one where we use with the ocarinas and language app she also set up for us in our tablets.

A friend of mine- Riku, he's really nice - he said he also got one. So did someone else after the event. So I’m thinking she must have given to everyone who participated in it and I'm hoping you guys, if you have it, can pass them along to me. I want to try and use the phrases we have to figure out more about their language. Make more phrases, find new words. Stuff like that. I want to talk to them. See if they can direct me to the green-eyed spirits.

[ you wanna what now day- ]

So if you guys got anything similar to this, you can let me know here or in my inbox or in person or whatever works best for you. I, um, will try to pay you guys if you want something in return.

Umm… Yeah… That's it, I guess. Thank you.

Comments

[sunborne]

[ daylight looks over his shoulder when he realises soldat is approaching him. he flashes a bright smile and a wave before he returns his attention to the forest line. ]

A radio tower. It's a long shot to think it's still alive all this time, I know, but everything else is still here. Maybe... [ ah... he should probably fill soldat in on the details. so they're both on the same page. ]

When I was dreaming - with Sarissa and Kol, they were with me - we were at a radio tower. The tower itself... It was just... Saying this line of numbers and codes over and over again.

[worthallthis]

You dreamed about a radio tower. Aziraphale dreamed about a mine. The spirits said they were trying to show us things. Show the people who ate their food.

[Ergo, the dreams must be important. They nod.]

Even if it isn't alive now. It could be fixed. Do you know how far away it was? What direction?

[sunborne]

Kind of.

[ daylight described what he saw: how the tower was jutting out at the base of the southern mountains, along the coast. how he saw the lake, the bay, and the lighthouse from his vantage point. (which didn't have its beacon, he notes with worry.)

it's clear he's keeping a few things to himself with how he starts and stops in his descriptions. but from judging the troubled and worried expression on daylight's face, it might not be the best time to press him for details on that. at least for now. ]

... I remember being so sad for the radio tower. It just kept... pinging this message over and over again, hoping to get a response. It never did, though, but it kept going and going and going. [ he sighs, falling quiet as he looks back at the forests and tries to see beyond the trees. ] I think Sarissa, Kol, and I got an idea who the mysterious resident who's hiding is as well.

[worthallthis]

[It's surprising how much the Soldier's ability to read humans translates well into reading Daylight. They pick up on that loud and clear, and obligingly don't prod. It isn't important to the matter at hand, anyway.]

Mysterious resident. The original Beacon resident. Maridel?

[They got that name out of Robin, but it was in a private thread, so maybe no one else knows it yet.]

[sunborne]

[ daylight looks at bucky, optics an eerie glow with how it doesn't cast light in the darkness around them. ]

Yeah- Possibly. [ give him a minute-

he takes a deep breath and dims his optics, trying to recall details from the final minutes of the dream. there's... a lot of details he needs to shift to but, thankfully, the relevant ones come to mind: ] The name I heard was a Dr. Solis from the recording. The sheriff addressed Dr. Solis as 'she' during the broadcasted recording. Maridel is a girl's name... I don't think it would hurt to assume the full name is Dr. Maridel Solis, since it... fits. Both are Latin in origin and stuff.

[ and here comes the big bit, in day's opinion: ]

If Maridel and Dr. Solis are the same, then she's the one behind the lanterns.

[worthallthis]

[The Soldier waits patiently for Daylight to get his thoughts in order. They don't know if the connection is a strong enough one to consider fact, but it's possible. If she's the one behind the lanterns, then that makes the connection a bit more likely-- if someone had a way to protect their life essence inside an object, they could be more likely to survive whatever happened to this planet. The World Eaters. But it's still not a huge likelihood.

Hrm. After a moment of thought, looking into the middle distance with a small frown, the Soldier asks,]

Daylight. Can you recite the recording itself? Do you remember all of it?

[sunborne]

[ after a few seconds of clear hesitation, daylight nods in reply. he remembers the basic gist of the message and with startling clarity too.

he begins to recite the message from memory, sometimes stumbling and starting since he has difficulties with either pronouncing the names or reciting some of the smaller details: ] This is Sheriff Owen Hobaugh with the Beacon County Sheriff's Department. We've got 34 survivors here, along with medical supplies and fresh water and food. We're located at 45.717643, -86.667802.

Dr. Solis is with us, and she has a plan to keep us alive. She says she's found a way to temporarily rehouse a person's life force. If anyone's still alive out there, send us a signal. We might just be able to save this world yet.

[ when he finishes reciting the message, he falls quiet for a few seconds before he sighs, his winglets dropping behind him. ]

Like I said- They never got back a response.

[worthallthis]

Good memory. Thank you.

[The coordinates don't mean a lot without having a point of reference, or without having actual, like, maps and equipment and shit... but maybe there's something else in the ruins of Beacon somewhere that will make those possible to decode. To see if maybe they can find where the other survivors went. The Soldier nods.]

Robin said Maridel may come here. Once she believes we aren't dangerous to her. She might have more answers. And the other dreamers. I think you all saw different things. You may need to put them together.

[sunborne]

[ daylight listens to what soldat reveals, looking pensive at this new bit of information. ]

Did Ms. Robin explain what exactly is 'dangerous' to Ms. Mardiel? If we can prove that we can survive the? If we prove we won't harm her?

[ more details would be nice. especially if the results could be beneficial for them in the wake of what had happened.

daylight crosses his arms over his chassis, winglets fluttering as he tried to think of solutions to these stipulations he offered. he feels like they proved the first plausible condition after this, for sure, but what else can they do...? ]

Sir Cao Pi mentioned holding a townhall meeting. I definitely want to share what I know there since it's safer for the network. Will you go to it? You can share what told me with the to others there.

[worthallthis]

[Oh Jesus, the very last thing the Soldier wants to do: have to say stuff while being looked at. They visibly flinch at the very thought.]

You can share it. I told you. Now you know her name.

[They're not sure they would even manage to handle being in the building. Last time they'd hung around outside a window and just listened in. Being inside, crowded in with everyone else-- potential recipe for panic and a knife breakout.

Technically they probably have other things to share, too. Maybe... maybe they can write it down and just hand it to someone else to say.]

[sunborne]

[ daylight notices the flinch and looks concerned.

but he does have some measure of tact, not commenting on it directly and nodding in agreement to the request. ]

Okay, yeah. Sure. I can do that. [ he tilts his helm to the side, considering something that he thinks is important: ] Do you want me to keep your name out of the conversation if they press for details, then?

Whatever you want to do, buddy, I'll back you up on whatever it is.

[worthallthis]

[Well, that's nice of him to offer.]

Don't want to make you lie. I just don't. Like to be looked at. By lots of people at once.

[Which sounds dumb when they actually says it out loud, but then, what part of their issues doesn't sound dumb when you say it out loud? (Maybe the whole mind-wiping part. And the programming part. And-- Sergeant. Shut up.) They finish apologetically,]

You can say. Just. I probably won't be able to help much when you do.

[sunborne]

[ surprisingly, daylight nods, looking serious. ]

Oh no- I get that. Too many people, not enough room for everyone in there- That can get pretty awful.

[ as someone who is forever aware of his size and how much shape he takes, day seems to get the need for space for everyone. and how prickly some get, given his experience of suddenly interacting with those who also had em fields like him.

the others here don't have em fields, of course, but they have their own reason for needing lots of space. ]

I'll figure something out. We all will. Besides- If you ever need to, feel free to just, I don't know, shoot messages now and then? Only when you want to! [ day pats his messenger bag/belt for emphasis, perhaps indicating that his tablet is in there. ] I always bring my tablet with me when I go running around somewhere. I'm sure the others do too!

[worthallthis]

[That's a thought, they suppose. It seems kind of ridiculous, too, sitting in a meeting and sending people text messages to say something for them. Less embarrassing, though, because they can easily imagine what would happen if they tried it themselves. Freezing, stammering, bolting, possibly leaving knives behind stuck into someone or something.

Stupid is better than panicked violence, anyway.]

I'll remember that. Thanks.

[They shake themselves out of this topic of conversation.]

So you don't remember anything outside the radio tower? Landmarks you could see from it maybe?

[If the goal here is to find it, they'll need something to point them the right way.]

[sunborne]

Oh! Yeah! I remember some stuff...

[ daylight's optics dim in concentration, trying to remember any particular detail or two that stood out for him.

it takes a few seconds but- there! he thinks that could be subjects of interest to soldat. ]

We-We saw the lake, for one thing. When we looked out the radio tower, we saw Beacon from... [ hang on. before he gets carried away... daylight pauses, trying to recall the skills he was taught when being trained as the scout for his fireteam. ] Judging by how the tower was positioned and what we could see... I think we were on the southern mountains, just along the coast. We could see the lake, the bay, and the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was different from the one we know because, well, it didn't have its beacon at the time.

[worthallthis]

So if we want to find it. We need to go that way.

[The Soldier points, looking thoughtful. This is a goal they might be able to achieve. Unlike the attempts to traverse the lake, apparently.]

How small did Beacon look? Was it very far away?

[sunborne]

[ daylight looks less confident now when he's asked that. judging what's too big or too small is difficult for day these days, given his size being the outlier and not the norm anymore.

(that and his processors briefly freeze up in fear when he remembers the thing lumbering through the lake, the size too impossible to comprehend for him at the time. )]

Smallish...? [ daylight shakes his helm, trying to gather his thoughts and give a coherent enough answer. ] It's at least a few hours away from Beacon, judging by the size... I couldn't make complete details of it but it wasn't, like, an ant or anything.

[worthallthis]

Still means it will take days to get there if we don't know the way.

[They remember how long it took to find the armory, and how long it takes now.]

It would be a major expedition. Take a lot of planning.

[sunborne]

Anything worth trying will take a while. That's my experience back on the Lornful Light.

[ daylight's winglets perk up at the use of 'we' from soldat but daylight tries to keep his cool, knowing this is a serious discussion. 'tries' is the emphasised word here, mostly because there's no way to hide how wiggly the winglets are. ]

And... And does this mean you wanna come? For real? [ because, to be honest, day was prepared to go in by himself if it came to that. ]

[worthallthis]

[The look the Soldier gives him is one like they think that is a very, very dumb question.]

I'm not letting you go out there alone. You need protection. In case the green-eyes are hostile.

[sunborne]

[ daylight beams, all the same, nodding along in agreement as his winglets continue to flap in excitement. ]

Yeah- Always better to have a buddy with you for situations like these. [ it sounds like he's repeating this than saying it from experience, his expression wistful all the while.

after a second or two passes, day adds a quiet, ] And, um, Soldat?

Thanks. It means a lot to me you're the one going with me. I know you'll have my back for this.

[worthallthis]

[That wipes the briefly unimpressed expression right off the Soldier's face, turning it into something surprised, and then vaguely embarrassed. They look away, gaze sliding sideways. Being thanked for doing what feels like their job is still kind of new and unfamiliar. Not bad, thought.]

You're welcome. It's what I'm good at. I ought to be available to do it when I can.

[And, you know, Daylight is a good kid, seems like. Too trusting, but that's not something they really want to see changed. Just keep him safe, and maybe he might get to keep some of that optimism.]

[sunborne]

[ someone please get daylight either a child lease or a bell to wear so everyone knows where he is at all times. please...

daylight continues to beam in reply, happy and touched by what soldat is telling him. he nods with both clear enthusiasm and trust, his winglets fluttering in joy. ]

And I'll try to do the same for you then, buddy. We're in this together. Whatever happens, out there in the woods, I've got your back.

[ daylight then... does a very daylight thing of him in that moment.

he extends a servo towards soldat, pinky out. clearly waiting for soldat to do the same. ] That's a promise!

[worthallthis]

A promise.

[The Soldier has never seen a pinky promise before. They stare at it in confusion, but mimic the gesture after a moment since that seems to be what Daylight's waiting for. They use the metal hand, since that seems appropriate with a robot person.]

[sunborne]

Yeah! This is a pinky promise! [ he either has no shame or a lot of certainty in what he's saying right now. a bit of both, perhaps. ] This is, like, a super important gesture where I'm from. An absolutely sacred thing friends do to show they're serious about what they're going to swear by.

[ daylight's pinky tries to hook around soldat's and he begins to shake their linked servos(?) up and down. with a great deal of enthusiasm too. ] I promise to do what I can to help you while we're here, buddy! No matter what happens, I've got your back.