dawnlord | IC INBOX ( KENOS ).

[ The more he considers it, the more he seriously thinks he should quit this dumb courier job, bite the bullet, and ask if that blacksmith guy if there's any work for him there. Partly because the shit he sees there whenever he vists to talk about his upcoming prosthetic just seems kinda ... cool. Completely foreign in its details, but somewhat familiar to him in ultimately being manual work, while still being interesting. More interesting than the job of delivering stuff, certainly, so a job change would be a good move, right?

And also partly because this courier job sucks.

Late in the afternoon finds Gen making his way through the streets of Kowloon on his last delivery of the day, huffing as he scuffs his sleeve past his jaw to wipe away the steady stream of sweat beading off his chin. He's had to haul around heavy shit all day, the heat's still pretty formidable around midday, and running around like this is doing wonders for his physical condition, but damn is it exhausting. Not to mention, Kowloon's still a pain in the ass to do deliveries in -- he might have grown used to the geography by now, but making his way through all these dingy allies and up these rickety staircases to cut through twisty streets is annoying.

Gen's clearly a little worn out by the time he makes his way to his destination, giving a hard huff as he leans against the wall by the doorframe and pounds his fist on it once, twice. ]

Delivery.

[ His voice, too, is a little hoarse as he calls out to whoever's inside. Hopefully they answer the door fast. A canine ear twitches as he listens for the sound of footsteps, staying where he is leaning right next to the door with fabulously unprofessional posture. ]

[Generally speaking, Liem is not the kind of man who wilds out and gnaws on the necks of near-strangers without any warning. As an apology for this embarrassing gaffe, Bondrewd will receive a small package a little later on in Pelu, containing a trio of leather-bound notebooks of differing sizes, a package of handsome pens, paper-wrapped sticks of charcoal, and a sheaf of very thin paper — the sort meant for making rubbings. A small square of card bears a note in ruler-straight script:]

Mr. Bondrewd,

Please accept my apologies for any suffering or inconvenience you sustained as a result of my behaviour in Aetós’s facility. I have had good experiences with the vendors of these particular products; I hope you will find a use for them in your endeavours.

—Liem Talbott

[ Come morning during early in the second half of Pelu, Bondrewd will find a box has been delivered and waiting outside of his door. A fanciful card sits on top, and in elegant script reads:

Esteemed Bearer,

Please accept this token of our sincerest gratitude and proof of your efforts to combat the Blight's spread. Your assistance in procuring the flower specimens is greatly appreciated. The included mixture, when diluted in water, has been shown to slow the progression of the disease when ingested or spread directly over a degrading object. Though we still have much work to do, we will continue to experiment in hopes that this will lead us to a permanent cure.

Yours,

Yuri Vogen
Greenwood Yards

Inside the box sits another decorative floral box - and inside that is a vial of a shimmering, blue-green mixture. True to word, if ingested by a person suffering from the Blight or spread over an object succumbing to its effects, it will considerably slow the progress of the affliction. There are enough for three dosages.

Next time Bondrewd visits Greenwood Yards, he will also find he is greeted with great warmth - and offered a small vial of dried herbs. They smell divine - and the man who hands it to him explains that when burned, the smoke it produces has the uncanny ability to make one able to shed their Shard's Discord, transferring it to another of their choosing through physical contact. There is enough for one use (with player permission, of course!). ]

[ Hey Bondrewd. Silco isn't going to talk like this, but you will be greeted with a... nudge to please stop by at your earliest -- nope, most immediate -- convenience, please.

Please... ]

Mr. Bondrewd. I hope you are faring well today, and that I am not interrupting. If you have but a few minutes to chat, I have a question or two for you.

[ Sebastian’s polite, warm voice comes through Communion, and with the extra connection of Stargazers his emotions are as cool and even as they usually tend to be. However. This time, there is something else, something indistinct and hard to pin down in that connection. Communion with Sebastian always just comes with a feeling of the dark (of the abyss, even—), but there’s something else in there today. It’s a low, steady undercurrent of something in that dark. It’s not something Sebastian would intentionally share. But he has his reasons for reaching out to Bondrewd of all his contacts, even knowing that he can’t quite hide his being so completely when they speak. ]

[ There is, perhaps, the sensation of a polite knock on the door. And, providing Bondrewd answers, a casual drawl of a voice, accompanied by a sense of bewilderment. ]

You, uh. Went up to Springstar's Tree?

[ From the guy who had just been encouraging him to go back to Springstar... and got... banned from a part of it... ]

[ It's quite sudden when a presence reaches out to Bondrewd through Communion. It's familiar to him, but also not, since they've not had a proper conversation so much as direction being given. However. The voice of Aetós is fairly unmistakable. ]

Bondrewd, isn't it? You know who I am, I hope.

[ senpai, duh ]

I was hoping we might have a little chat.

[ How often does Bondrewd leave his laboratory? How good is his security, how heavy are the locks to his doors? He's thus far kept it secret from most who would cause trouble, but how vigilant has he been about keeping it impregnable? -- all irrelevant questions, given the time Gen has spent (lightly) assisting Bondrewd thus far, and the set of strange abilities he's been blessed with.

And so, when Bondrewd returns to his laboratory from some errand or the other late one evening, he'll find the place not as quiet as he left it.

The guinea pigs are loose, he might notice first -- one or two of them scampering for freedom the moment he opens the front door. Something has opened the door to their enclosure. Further into his laboratory, he'll find more of the creatures hiding in corners or squeaking in distress as they trundle about the floor, seeking someplace quiet to hunker down. They haven't been hurt, it seems, and it's only that they're fleeing from some commotion.

The commotion of Gen upending a cabinet of drawers, sending papers scattering in every direction. The floor is already a mess of scattered supplies and notes, a table having been knocked over before Bondrewd made his entrance, and Gen huffs to himself as he turns one drawer, then another upside down to empty its contents across the floor. Clearly searching for something, and having difficulty finding it, judging by the frustrated huff he gives.

It's not until Bondrewd steps into the light of his laboratory that Gen whirls around to look at him, clearly on edge. And while his posture is definitely tense -- he hadn't expected to be caught by Bondrewd while still here, having planned on retrieving his target object quickly and retreating ASAP -- he's also too prideful to beat a hasty retreat now. And so, standing amidst the mess of Bondrewd's ruffled laboratory, he demands, ]

-- where's the shard.

[ Very suddenly, there’s a sense of Communion touching your character’s mind. However, it’s as if they connect with the mind of a shared Aspect, as they’re not able to block out the brief, but sharp memory that comes to them. ]

A Shard-Bearer strums away at a guitar, and a nearby Kenosian laughs incredulously at the recognizable notes. The Kenosian starts to sing, and though the words are different, the Shard-Bearer plays with excited vigor at this unexpected connection.

[ ooc note — Just to avoid OOC confusion/misinterpretation, the details included in this memory are random and are not necessarily interconnected or plot meaningful beyond a surface level. However, your character is free to interpret this random memory however they’d like! This event will also be touched on somewhat during today’s NPC Communion Post. ]

action ; backdated to early pelu (mid-march)

delivery ▶︎ backdated to several days after the zoo raid

action;

COMMUNION

some generic time after the oracle event

communion, after The Sap Incident

ring ring

action ; early october, before link's revival

a memory—