Summary:Fleeing the falling castle, Sam and Illyana assess their situation Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Sam and Illyana leave the crumbling tower far, far behind. There's nothing for them there. Rather literally as the construct not only falls apart but starts to disintegrate, not even leaving rubble behind. Lord Maerd, his troops, all of them are gone as well. Even the rolling field of green has started to disappear, eaten as the wild, colorful jungle closes in to reclaim the land.
Or perhaps it should be 'formerly colorful', as the vibrant hues have started to dull, and the plants starting to look more twisted and sinister. Mountains too, seem to appear. Because they weren't there when Sam and Illyana were trekking around earlier.
For the moment, they've made an impromptu camp on the edge of a small body of water and Illyana has given up on trying to wrench the collar free. Something her head already knew wasn't an option. She tried to open a stepping disk earlier, but the power just rebounded on her and she's still moving a bit stiffly from that. Cracked ribs, maybe. Wiping a hand down her face Illyana blows out a breath. "Alright. Let's assess our situation."
"The situation," Sam breathes. He's crouched down and poking at the fire, having managed to find at least enough dried brush to give him something to burn, even if he doesn't think it likely wise to inhale too much of the smoke.
"The situation is I dragged us to another world in a rush of…hell, just straight ego, I think. Figurin' I could save the day. Pulled you along with me. Pretty understandable if you wanna whup my ass once we get outta this mess," he sighs.
"Well, I lefft word with both the X-men and SHIELD about what we were tryin' to do, even if I don't know exactly where that is. They're pretty formidable when they're determined. Someone will come for us sooner or later. In the meantime, i guess we gotta figure out if there's some way to get that collar off o' you. She can't be the only power in this place."
Illyana Rasputina has had a piece of grass in her hands that she's been methodically shredding to give her hands something to do, and Sam's summary gets him an arched brow and a Look. She tosses the remains of the blade of grass into the fire. "That's not our situation. That may be our lead-up, but that's not where we are now." Illyana has been in crappy, hopeless-seeming situations before. Where there wasn't really even any sort of hope of rescue. So despite the collar around her neck, she's Dealing. "Besides." She says, almost gently. "You're a hero. Trying to save people is what you do. I wouldn't want you to be any other way."
"So. We don't have food, but we do have water. We'll want to find shelter, if there's any to be had." She looks towards the 'new' mountains. "Maybe some caves? That'd get us out of needing to build something." Illyana looks around, and she gets one of those thoughtful frowns again. "Those mountains weren't here before, were they?" She just wants someone to double-check her. She doesn't always pay a lot of attention to the landscape because Limbo's own features tend to move around a lot.
He shakes his head, "No. The landscape's changin', which makes it hard to rely on anything. Shelter or otherwise. I don't want us crawling down in a cave only to have it seal up behind us because the mountain decided to be solid all of a sudden," he says.
"Still, if things seem to stabilize, we can reassess that. For now, I'll try to find a few rudimentary tools and see if I can put together somethin' like a lean-to. Won't be great, but it'll at least keep any rain off. Guess I get to put that Eagle Scout trainin' to good use," he says.
Illyana Rasputina gives a nod, her manner grim and starts to tick things off on her fingers. "You ran into this chick in your dreams. It's an actual place and not a mental construct. The landscape doesn't stay the same." She sighs. "We're in one of the Dream Realms." The blonde pinches the bridge of her nose. "I hope this isn't Plokta's doing. Blast!"
Sam Guthrie raises an eyebrow, "I don't know who Plokta is, but that's a terrible name. It sounds like a phlegm-shaped Pokemon," he says. He sighs and shakes his head, "I'm trying not to apologize every five seconds, but it an't easy. I feel like a god damn idiot."
Illyana Rasputina looks over at Sam for a long moment. Putting her palms on her knees, she pushes up to her feet and goes over to him and smacks him upside the head. "There. That's for falling for the classic Damsel in Distress Who Is Actually The Bad Guy." Her tone matches her smirk. Mocking him. After smacking him she smooths his hair back down. Something she can't usually do because he's so damned tall. "You're a good man, Charlie Brown. Don't let it tear you apart."
Illyana's seen grief, self-blame like this before. She still catches glimpses of it in Piotr's eyes when he looks at her. Strong men failing to live up to their own impossible standards.
"Plokta was a Splinter Lord I pulled a fast one on to get him to stop supporting a cult that was kidnapping kids." Illyana says, giving him the quick-and-dirty version. "He's from a corner of the Dark Dimension but that doesn't mean he can't pull some strings. I think it's unlikely but… the timing puts it on the radar."
"Now. Dream Realms. I haven't been to one before but I've read about them in my library. The thing we're going to have to worry about is it's likely to draw from our hopes and wishes, our dreams, and our fears, or nightmares. If we were on Earth, it'd likely just be illusions. But here, the Realm's power backs them up, and makes them real. Real enough to kill us." Her tone is grim.
Sam Guthrie nods gently at her, although whether or not he's actually taking her absolution to heart is certainly in question. He knows that recriminations won't get him anywhere, but he's still bruised at his own impulsiveness, his own mistake. He's supposed to be an experienced hero now, not some sort of stumbling teenager out on their first mission.
Still. Save that for later.
"Then we have to, I guess, just be aware of what we're dealing with, what's around us. We'll have to look out for each other. But I can't believe there isn't a way out. She managed to contact us, even with those bonds in place. So they aren't capable of completely cutting us off. Maybe because it's a Dream World, like you said? I don't know. I don't know anything about this," he says, growing frustrated again. "But I'm not giving up. And I won't let you get hurt."
"Now that I'm all fragile and stuff?" Illyana can't help but tease him a bit as he makes that stand to protect her. It is a very real concern, after all. Being in his realm and with that collar, her abilities are pretty substantially curtailed.
Drawing a deep breath, she lets it out slowly. "OK. We have your messages with SHIELD and the X-Men, so worst-case, *someone* is gonna know we're gone and have a vague idea about it." Unlike when she went missing last summer and just dropped off the radar. "Sometimes a dreamer's mind will cross over into a dream realm, which is likely how she first found you. So if we find someone here, they *could* be a dreamer. Them being at all useful and believing us might be a bit more of an issue." She worries her lower lip a bit and hmms. "I don't have much in the way of magic here, but maybe I can make the equivalent of a beacon. Draw the dreams of those that might be thinking about looking for us to here."
Sam Guthrie nods, "It's certainly more than I can do," he says a bit bitterly, but then shakes it off. She doesn't need him wallowing in self-pity right now.
"You're not fragile, but you are vulnerable. There's nothing wrong with being vulnerable. But you're used to being rather untouchable and, in the heat of the moment, you might rely on something you can't do right now," he says. "So, yeah, I"m going to look out for you, whether you want me to or not," he says with a fierce smile.
Illyana Rasputina wrinkles her nose a bit as he corrects her and says it's OK to be vulnerable. "You know that idea's pretty antithetical to my entire life, right?" She makes light of it, uses that teasing to hide just how serious she is. "I was not unaware of the things said about me at Xavier's." Her tone turns dry. "'Bitch' tended to be one of the kinder epitaphs. And not chasing boys of course means I'm either a lesbian or frigid. Because I didn't give them that vulnerability. But if I had, it likely wouldn't have won me any fans." Illyana waves a hand, as though dismissing the conversation. "Sorry. I'm… babbling." Which makes her frown. It's not something she does.
While the sorceresses manner is light and mocking, it's a facade for some very deep emotions, which the Dreamworld picks up on. There's the flash of lighting and the crackBOOM of thunder. Looking up, angry clouds are starting to roll in. "Ah, Spit and Hades." Because they don't have any kind of shelter yet.
Sam Guthrie shakes his head, "You're not babbling. You're talking about yourself. I wish you'd do more of it, honestly. You hold things pretty close. Not that I don't understand why, it's just…" he sighs. "You're not a bitch. You've just been through shit. And if you're a lesbian or…whatever, that's nobody's business but yours and ain't no reason for anybody to be rotten to you anyway."
"I can keep some of it off us wtih the blast field, if it's too strong, but not forever. And you'll have to stick close. Maybe we can try and risk a cave, at least in the short term. Just…don't go too deep, huh?"
Illyana Rasputina grimaces slightly. "Who wants to hear about me? There's not really any way to spin my life that doesn't sound like a sob story and people lean towards pitying me or being appalled. I'll take the distaste, thanks." The blonde does look over at him with amusement partway through his remarks. "Or 'whatever'? Oh, I gotta know what you might think 'whatever' is, Samuel Guthrie."
Giving a nod at the idea to risk a cave, Illyana takes one of the lit branches with her as she starts towards the rising mountains. "I don't think it'd just fill up with rock with us still in there. But we go too deep in the way *out* may disappear, yeah. You're pretty good at making your own entrances and exits, though." Illyana tilts her head back to look up as it starts to rain, and it's growing rapidly dark. If she didn't already have a skewed sense of time, being in this place would probably drive her a little nuts. "It's just rain so far. I've been through worse." Sadly, that's not boasting.
Sam Guthrie squirms and runs a hand back through his hair, "I just mean…who you like or don't like, what you do or don't do…it ain't anybody's business. Not mine, definitely not theirs," he says. "None of it makes a difference nohow. You're my friend, period. Everything else is just…details. Kids are always gonna make asses out of themselves. You'd think mutants would know better. We all know what it's like to feel different. But I guess for some folks that just means they gotta find their own tribe to exclude folks from," he sighs.
"Yeah, I am," he says, to the cave question. "Although, like you said, we can't rely on much here at all. But we won't be able to think about much soaked to the bone, so let's get dry first and take our chances."
Illyana Rasputina's eyes seem to glint even in the gathering darkness, a shine of light that comes from within as she watches Sam squirm. "Uh huh. It's not anyone's business, but ohhh, people can't help but think it, can they? What is it you think I *do* then, Sam?" She looks to twist that knife just a bit more, because when you have a Day That Sucks, you take your fun where you can get it. Unfortunately for Sam, Illyana's idea of fun is often at the expense of her friends. Usually just a bit of their dignity.
"I've always appreciated that you've treated me like a person, Sam." Illyana says as they trudge through the thick jungle undergrowth. "But you know one of those 'just details' is that I'm like *literally* evil, right? You take out the Soul-o-meter and mine comes with a whole lot of corruption."
The rain gets a small 'eh' from the blonde. "Belasco tossed me out into a blizzard for a few years. No food, no shelter, no real clothes to speak of, and wouldn't let me die. Rain ain't nuthin'."
Sam Guthrie shakes his head, "I don't think good and evil work that way. You don't, that's fine, I ain't about to argue about it. But you ain't never been nothin' but good to me," he says.
When she twists the knife, he frowns, "I figure you probably like who you like, but you keep quiet about it. You probably figure they wouldn't want ya because of the things you've been through and because you don't feel worthy," he says. As long as knives are being twisted. "I think you're probably lonely, Illy. More than you let on. So I don't push about it and I don't fret. But if you like somebody - or love 'em - you should probably let 'em know. Cause this kind of shit happens to us way too often," he says.
"Well, then, consider me the spoilsport who don't like gettin' wet. I think I see a crack in the side of the mountain up ahead…"
"I get a rash when I step on holy ground." Illyana points out, like she has some sort of masochistic need to make people believe the worst of her, even if she wants them to think the best.
When Sam doesn't let himself get ruffled, Illyana gives a sigh. "I love my brother." She points out. She admits that easily enough. But that's different, isn't it? They pick up the pace as the rain starts coming down harder, aiming for that potential crack and Sam's got the eagle eyes. Or was it his desires that shaped influenced the world around them?
It's not much, maybe a dozen feet deep and half that wide and getting to the back of it will require some ducking on Sam's part. Illyana waves the makeshift torch around to make sure there aren't any critters in the space before they climb in. There's not a lot of room for lying down, Sam's feet would likely get wet from wind-blown rain, but sitting should be alright.
Illyana doesn't speak again until they're settled. The burning branch is stick in the ground, but isn't likely to last too long, and everything is we now. Including the both of them. "It's not just that I grew up somewhere different, Sam." She finally says, leaning back with arms wrapped around her to hold in her own bodyheat, gaze fixed on the flame as though seeing the fire might translate into more warmth. "Belasco… merged my essence with Limbo. You know the nature/nurture arguments? This isn't just my 'nurture' was messed up. I'm literally wired differently. That's why it took me so long to play normal when I came to Xavier's."
Sam Guthrie nods as she mentions Piotr, "Not what I meant and you know it, but it's somethin', at least. I know how much I love my brothers and sisters. Feels like it must be the same, just all concentrated with fewer," he says.
"I know plenty of rotten folk go to church every Sunday. Grew up around 'em," he says, staring at the stick. He gathers a little loose scrabble and scree, bracing up around the base ad trying to lay some potential tinder near, hoping the little fire they have will dry it out enough to light before the flame goes out.
"You're talkin' all this stuff about your nature and what you're made of, but good and evil, it's about what you do, about how you act. I've seen you help people, save people. I've seen you struggle against your worst impulses. That's what good is. If we were meant to just be all good, all the time, wouldn't have been no fall in the first place, if you're going by Bible talk. People are meant to struggle with things. Just cause you gotta struggle more don't mean you're bad. if anything, it means you're brave."
Illyana Rasputina can weather a lot of adversity, such as the cold. But if she doesn't have to, she's not going to play the martyr. She scoots a bit closer to Sam so she can lean against him and mooch a bit of his heat. He can feel the slight shake in her body as she chuckles. "Have you considered a career in motivational speaking?" Like so many of her comments, they're a mixture of sarcasm and mocking. Using humor to keep things from getting too real. From feeling like she needs to respond to them like that dark little voice in the back of her mind likes to whisper to her.
"Belasco was using me to try to let his Elder Gods out of their prison. These aren't like having an evil Thor on the loose, we're talking 'devour worlds' levels of evil." Illyana says, still watching the flame as it burns lower and lower. "It was his plan that we'd do it together. My 'glorious destiny'. Even with him gone, I could lean into it. Finish the ritual. Boom. Apocalypse, baby. But what's left of me that's human, that loves my brother, doesn't want that to happen. So, I try to at least mimic being good. But imagine if I went and jumped into a relationship. Got my heart broken. What if suddenly, instead of wanting to keep the world safe, I wanted to burn it all down?"
Sam Guthrie doesn't mind sharing his heat, letting her lean in against him a bit. "I thought about a career in teaching, which is close. But I like fighting the bad guys. And I got enough of watching after kids back home with my brothers and sisters," he says. "Maybe I'll feel different later." Provided he gets there, of course.
"You don't think making yourself be alone and denyin' yourself the chance to feel happy is just as risky? Yeah, you could get your heart broken, it's true. You also…might not. Might find someone worth loving, someone who makes all that dark stuff easier," he sighs. "Admittedly, I talk a big game, but I ain't had a real girlfriend in…years. So it ain't like I got room to talk."
Illyana Rasputina leans her head back against the rough stone wall, finally pulling her gaze from the flame to look over at Sam as the flickering light throws eerie shadows over his face. "But that's because you just haven't run across anyone that interested you more than avoiding it, hmm?"
"I get the reasoning, but I have a brother I love and friends who stand by me, even if they should run." Illyana bumps him with her shoulder a bit. This means you, big dummy. "Seems like a big risk." She doesn't get into how unlikely she thinks it'd be to find someone that could handle her lifestyle. Being ruler of Limbo isn't going away anytime soon.
"Doug wanted more from me." Illyana finally says. "He's a friend, he knows my past, he knows what I do he puts up with, well, me."
Sam Guthrie meets her eyes carefully, "Not exactly," he says. He tosses little rocks at the stick of the fire, just passing time, like skipping stones on the water. Something to concentrate on.
"Don't much matter how you feel if the other person don't feel the same. I get that. Believe me," he says. "I know a lunkhead hick ain't exactly most girls idea of a dreamboat."
"Doug…" he says, frowning, "Doug's got a lot of issues of his own. I don't think he's ready to date anyone. I'm sure he'd hate me sayin' it, but there it is. He's hung up on…a lot. Guess that's why he took a leave of absence from work," he says. "All I know is you're beautiful and you're a badass and the man who can turn your head…he's gonna be a lucky one. I mean, in for a world of trouble, but lucky just the same."
Illyana Rasputina huffs in amusement and then says with a grin, "Are you giving me advice you aren't taking yourself? Hypocrite."
"He knits shell cozies for his lizard." Illyana says in that so-dry tone of hers. "I wouldn't say he's got issues, he's got damned encyclopedias. Self-esteem, for sure. Having power like languages when his buddy can knock down castles might do a number on a guy, I suppose."
The blonde stifles a yawn. "What happens if you fall asleep in a dream realm, hmm?" She muses.