[audio] @riku [open] (backdated to 7th Aug)

[equinoctials]

This is Riku. I've met some of you already, building the boats or around town.

[ He's not the most outgoing guy, preferring to show his community spirit by working around Beacon. One might have seen him patching rooftops with handmade shingles or filling potholes with sand and stones. Those from the first ferry in might recall he helped move excess furniture from rooms in the Invincible so people could live in them. ]

I know we've all got a lot going on. I wouldn't ask for your help if it wasn't important.

[ Riku says it like he's not used to this. Thunder growls heavily in the background. ]

Some people went missing. I need to go find them before this rain gets any worse.

[ So why take his concerns to the network? ]

I can't be in two places at once. The lake... It's rising, and so is the river. We need to protect our supplies, whatever's left after the rats.

You can use the boat building materials down by the boathouse if you need them. Just get to it before they wash away. And-

[ He exhales, hesitating to give such an obvious warning when so many are assured of the dangers. For his own edification, he does anyway. ]

Be careful. It's down to us.

(OOC: backdated to 7 Aug)

Comments

[originallutece]

Which people, precisely? And are you asking for help protecting the supplies or looking for them?

And if it's the former, Riku, [because she can well guess how this might be playing out in his head,] what makes you think they're still around?

[equinoctials]

[ She's a genius, so he shouldn't be surprised to discover she's thinking several steps ahead. Riku doesn't sound nervous, there's a deep and resolute quiet in his heart he's felt before, a different rush than the Darkness he wields.

There's no room for doubt or fear right now. That doesn't mean this doesn't hurt. ]

Look after our supplies. I'll worry about the ones missing.

[originallutece]

That answers one of my questions. Not the other.

I'm not saying you oughtn't look for them. But at least acknowledge the rather large possibility they may not be here any longer.

[equinoctials]

I won't know unless I look.

[ That's pragmatism that he can respect. But what else can he do? ]

Sora's searching for Kairi. He's done it before. He's probably made friends with a forest spirit or two out there already.

[ That's Sora down to his dumb, precious, and lately too-rare smile. ]

audio;

[telepathos]

[ She recognizes the voice, but it takes her far too long to figure out how to use the device to reply to his message. It should be like a walkie-talkie, but...alas. ]

I can help. [ Keep the supplies dry...whatever supplies they are, and whatever they're being used for. ] And I can keep the rats away.

[ Easy enough to sit around with whatever items he wants protected, and she can fling the rats out into the water, should they get too friendly. ]

audio;

[equinoctials]

[ He recognizes hers, too, especially with that cadence. Practical, abrupt, as few words as possible, nothing wasted. There's a lot, he's found, that can exist in the spaces between what she does say. ]

El, remember the general store? If this rain keeps going, I'm worried water will get to the stuff inside.

Look for the guy digging around the Invincible. He's nice. He'll point you at people who can help protect the supplies. And... thanks.

audio;

[telepathos]

Okay. [ She can take directions well enough and assumes she'll notice somebody digging around the place. ] Be careful.

[ Because he seems like the one tossing himself headlong into danger, here. Not her. ]

voice

[callada]

Already on it, trying to dig trenches around the Invincible to divert the water. Who's missing? I'll let you know if I see any sign of them.

[equinoctials]

Thanks. That's a lot to put on one person. If you can convince anyone, maybe somebody can do something about the general store.

...It's Sora, I think he went to search for Kairi.

[callada]

Yeah, I've seen a few others starting to pitch in. Nobody wants to get washed into the river.

Kairi went missing first? How long ago was that?

@missprincessmary; voice

[withsadness]

Are you going to be okay?

[She has a huge worry...please don't go missing, too, Riku.]

[equinoctials]

Stay in Beacon, okay? We'll be back before you know it.

[ Riku's guts twist, hoping this doesn't make a liar of him, but he can't not go after his friends. Just like...

Just like Sora probably would have done this inevitably. It's a different world and a different stormy night, but Kairi is gone, it's dark, and Sora has gone after her. How far they've come since the Door was opened. ]

Stay safe, Mary.

[withsadness]

Are--are you going right now?

[She can't help sounding a little frantic. Even if he says that they'll be back soon...]

Do I have time to give you a hug first?

@daylit; voice

[sunborne]

[ immediately, daylight's voice pipes up, already full of concern: ]

Do you need help in looking for who went missing? I think the others will take care of the boat materials. I can give you a hand in looking in whoever disappeared.

[equinoctials]

Daylight...

[ He says it low, regretting making Daylight worry but not Riku's decision to go. He glances at those who are coming with him, at Dawn and Vanitas. No, Vanitas can be a lot to handle even at the best of times.

And it'll be dangerous. He doesn't want Daylight getting hurt when the two of them are his responsibility. ]

It's Sora and Kairi. If they return to Beacon before we get back, can I count on you to convince them not to leave?

[sunborne]

[ daylight will always be there for his friends if he can help. riku shouldn't feel bad and daylight tries to let him know without outright saying it. as not to make this awkward, you know? ]

Sure...! Yeah! [ he tries to sound confident and cheerful as he can, without it bordering on tasteless due to the tone of the post and the concern he can feel radiating off his friend. ] I can do that. I'll let them know to stay where they are until you're back so you don't miss each other. That'll suck if you guys missed each other, right?

[ he tries to make a joke and fails in the process. it's the thought that counts but that's the point. another, more trouble thought presses down on daylight's processors. enough to throw him off. enough to worry him. enough that causes him to simply blurt it out: ]

Riku, are you- [ daylight sounds like he wants to ask something but he stops himself at the last minute, as if unsure or hesitant. ]

[ryanreynoldsvoice]

Hey, uh, detecting and finding people was sort of my job back home. Maybe I can help?

[equinoctials]

[ Riku remembers that voice. He... really embarrassed himself the first time they met, fortunately Riku's a little too stressed out to dwell on how bad he is at making a good first impression.

Detecting and finding people was his job? If he'd known that sooner...

He shakes his head.

He considers it. He seriously does. But the river rages, deep and treacherous even in fine enough weather, and Vanitas? He wouldn't put it past him to try turning their smaller companion into barbeque. ]

Wish I'd known. If we locate a trail, we'll come back. But only if you're certain. It's not like you have anything to gain.

[ryanreynoldsvoice]

It's not exactly like I got into the job to gain anything. It's kinda the type of job you do to help other guys gain something. Or to get something back, at least.

audio, @frazer

[takeanyadvantage]

What makes you think you'll be able to track the missing people down? Isn't it exactly easy here, love.

[equinoctials]

I get that.

[ Between the storm and the dark and who knows what out there? It might even be impossible to find a road, let alone his lost friends. ]

I can't stay here, not if they're out there. Alone.

[ That's a big "if", and he wouldn't blame anyone if they called him a fool. It's just... there are some feelings that are too large to quantify, they crowd out everything else, even doubt. ]

What's more important is the town's supplies. Storms like this could wash away houses back on the island. I don't know how much the rats destroyed, but whatever's left needs to be protected.

[takeanyadvantage]

It'll be fine, plenty of people here who are typically good at surviving despite the obvious proof otherwise. We'll work it out.

[She just sounds as endlessly tired as she is.]

You on the other hand are going out on your own without any rhyme or reason.

[ordinaryannie]

If you're going out into the woods after your friends, at least bring something to mark your way back so you're not stranded out there too.

[equinoctials]

A marker...

[ Whoever chooses those who come on the ferry sure knows to pick some sensible people. He doesn't recognize this voice, but that doesn't matter. The suggestion's a sound one. ]

We'll do that, thanks.

[ It's as good a time as any to find out if the Darkness can linger like a marker as long as he's used to it lingering on more familiar worlds. Invisible to most, but these guys can smell it from a ways off. ]

[ordinaryannie]

Good luck.

[A brief pause.]

Give us a description of who you're looking for, and the rest of us can keep an eye out in case they find their way back before you.

[She hasn't memorized the faces that go with all of the names yet - and even if she had, there were more than enough new people on the ferry who might not have had the chance to meet many of their fellow fallen yet.]