genessia | OPEN LOG; EVERGLADE, GENESSIA - do not reply until you read the ooc post

OPEN LOG; EVERGLADE, GENESSIA - do not reply until you read the ooc post

The first sign that something was going on that day hadn't been at the crack. It hadn't even been in Genessia, as a matter of fact. The first sign had been a sound not unlike a window shuddering in a heavy storm. It perforated the atmosphere within Everglade first.

Only a few moments later, Fayren would hear the same shudder echo through its forests, forcing birds to flee the cover of the trees. In the populated areas of the kingdom itself, it would be much quieter, as if it were miles away.

Then it would return to Genessia. The crack in the sky was rapidly saturated, thousands more than before forcing their whole shapeless bodies against the barrier. Some of the strange aurora-tinted color seems to press into their ranks, a few of the strange creatures being forced back, but quickly being replaced by another of its kind.

And a sickening crack could be heard in all archways near and far, but it was loudest in Everglade, where a new crack had formed. Two humongous cracks appeared in Everglade's barrier like a sinister grin as if it were laughing at the town just above the clocktower. The two cracks took only a couple of seconds more before the strange monstrous creatures burst small holes into that crack, not big enough to fit their bodies through at once.

The leaked through, dripping like poison from an apple out of that sneering mouth in the sky until the first of these creatures fell to the ground. The eager, hungry soul from before, whose abyss of a stomach had been shared with the whole of Genessia when he'd opened his misshapen jaw the first time a few days ago now looked from side to side in the streets of Everglade.

The first face he saw was that of an NPC, and he only saw it for a moment before launching himself at the man and pinning him to the ground. Some would recognize him as the grizzled owner of The Rabbit's Foot. A loud scream was put out from the man as the creature opened its jaw wide, but did not eat him. Nothing seemed to happen when his jaw was opened, as a matter of fact.

The creature closed its mouth slowly before standing upright on what seemed to be a two-legged form, though if it had arms they didn't take shape. It made a gesture as if it were cracking its neck as the man escaped quickly, locking the door to his shop behind him.

More of the creatures were piling into Everglade slowly but surely, but this one in particular caught sight of a local werewolf, someone with a pendant, a soul, and repeated his mauling, but this time- this time something happened. This time a strange, glowing mist seemed to pull out of the Everglade resident's body, a faint glimmer of aurora with it, and in a short time this person stopped screaming. They were still alive, but it didn't seem like there was anything... inside, really.

A hissing, victorious laughter left the creature and he moved on, heading toward Genessia's gate along with his oversized mouth pulled up into an eerie grin that reflected the crack in the sky. Those that had made it in through Everglade's crack followed suit.

They had to let the rest of their friends in through Genessia; it was only the polite thing to do.

{{ READ THE OOC POST FOR IMPORTANT DETAILS ON THIS EVENT! }}

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[ that's exactly where zuko was: in fayren, seeing to both keeping the city safe and wrapping up all the loose ends of azula's term. his sister had completed some of the work, but there was much that had been left unfinished when the princess abruptly vanished from the realm. if not for having to take over in her wake until the new guardians took over, he would have already been out helping to do what he could— but duty bound him to this place, just as duty would have bound him to the fire nation in the even that he one day did take the throne.

the device rang once, twice, and finally a third before zuko manages to duck into his office to pick it up. ]

Weiss? [ she looks panicked, and he's already eying the spot where his swords lie resting against the side of a chair. ] What's wrong?

[ Weiss nearly had a heart attack when he took so long to pick up. She didn't know of she was going to have time for someone else to get there. ]

Teanie Teas. I need you ten minutes ago. I was-

[ a large thud resounded as the spirit tried to break her ice, some of it crumbling away, but the rest still holding. ]

I was on my way to Fayren to restock on dust, I'm in Teanie Teas, just come get me and come armed. I'm either going to run out of air or this thing is going to break-

[ another thud-crack. ]

[ —he's already running out the door, barking orders at secretaries and other faculty currently staffing the guardian's tower. under normal circumstances, he wouldn't leave while playing interim guardian, but these aren't normal circumstances. ]

Stay there. I'm coming.

It's not like I have anywhere else to go, Zuko!

[ she was beyond stressed right then; yelling at Zuko for saying something that sounded stupid to her was the natural response for her.

Weiss took a deep breath, trying to keep herself level headed. ]

If you aren't here in 2 minutes, I'm breaking the ice on my own to try to surprise it.

[ if there's one thing zuko (surprisingly) excels at, it's keeping a cool head in a crisis. he's good at that, and it's something that makes — and will make — him a good leader. it doesn't take him too long to get there, and he drops down in front of weiss from a high window near the back of the tea shop. he might've melted the lock... and will have to replace that later, but it already looks as if the place has taken quite the beating already. the melted lock matches the rest of the destroyed decor.

there's no hug, no "i'm glad you're safe," just a calm sort of intensity. he's been in dire situations like this before. ]

Tell me what you need me to do.

[ Weiss tends to just get snippy during fights if something isn't working. Sometimes to the point of flat-out telling her teammates it's not working. But that's the thing- normally she's with teammates and that's where she excels. But when it's a situation where she doesn't have her team with her and she's had to take lead of her company as well, getting cut off from everyone makes for one extra cold serving of Weiss Schnee. She can still fight exceptionally, but she doesn't do as well on her own after long periods of time. Her stamina is still an issue, and so is the fact that she has no Dust left on her after three days of fighting.

Which didn't explain how by the time Zuko got there, she was standing in front of a mess of broken ice melting on the ground. The spirit was gone. Weiss turned to look at Zuko when he spoke. There wasn't any relief in her eyes, the desperation that was clear before had evaporated into thin air. Whatever crisis had been happening, it didn't look like she was concerned with it anymore. She didn't really know what she wanted Zuko to do, she just felt empty. Zuko had walked through that door and she could remember how she always felt whenever she saw Zuko, but she didn't feel it now. She didn't feel anything.

Weiss wouldn't have hugged him in this situation normally either, but there was something wrong with her and touching Zuko always made her feel something. So she took a few steps toward him and wrapped her arms around him. There was no warmth to the hug, none of the passion she normally felt or desire to keep her hands on him. Her heart rate didn't rise those couple of beats it usually did when she was excited to see him. ]

Zuko, I don't feel anything for you.

[ It wasn't meant to be an insult. It was an observation, just.. a blunt one. Weiss hadn't lost who she was, after all, she just couldn't feel. She pulled back from the unorthodox hug without hesitation, regarding him as though she wasn't quite sure what to think. ]

[ zuko held her, but something about her hug lacked warmth. her arms felt loose, like she was holding on, but not really holding on at all. it was enough to make him draw back from the hug as she spoke, eyes scanning her face for a sign of something— anything, but the way she looked at him... she might as well be staring right through him. ]

What do you mean? What happened? [ his hands went to her shoulders and he resisted the urge to shake her. ] What did that thing do to you?

[ if he was faster, if he hadn't had to stop and make sure fayren was being looked over— ]

[ Her breathing was far too even for someone who just got attacked. She didn't even look like she was bothered by it. It just was. Weiss blinked slowly, trying to remember exactly what happened but it didn't seem like anything happened. The calmness with which she explained herself was almost eerie. ]

I was going to wait for you, but it cracked the ice. If it hit it one more time, it would get through, so I used a glyph to shatter the ice myself and lunged at it with Myrtenaster. I killed it, but there was another one on the other side of the counter that I couldn't see through the ice. It pushed me against the wall, I dropped Myrtenaster, and suddenly I could feel everything at once and then it left.

[ And then she felt numb, but she hadn't really thought anything of it until she saw Zuko.

Weiss stepped away from Zuko. He obviously wasn't helping whatever was wrong with her. She narrowed her eyes slightly, almost frustrated. She should feel something for him. She knew she should, but she didn't. ]

You're upset?

[ She said it like it was an observation that she needed confirmed. Seeing her like this upset him, that was obvious. She was obviously okay, he had no reason to be upset. He was feeling upset and she couldn't feel anything, even though she was the one attacked. ]

[ felt everything at once, and then what? nothing at all? she was acting as if she were suddenly hollow inside. not mai's brand of hollow, where she acted like she was bored and done with the world around her, but an actual sort of hollowness that shook him to his core. ]

Of course I'm upset! You should be upset, too.

But I'm not.

[ The little changes in intonation almost made it seem like, for a second, she might've felt something about what she was saying. It was more just a speaking habit than anything, though, and Weiss seemed to consider him for another moment before going over to pick up Myrtenaster from where it'd been left after the fight. The normally colorful revolver barrel seems as empty as Weiss is, the inner areas of the barrel that were normally covered visible through the clear, glass-like material it was constructed of. ]

You're upset because you love me, right?

[ she said it like she was some sort of an automaton. a statement of fact instead of something she felt for him in return. ]

Yes, because I love you, and you're not acting like yourself! You were just attacked. Doesn't that make you feel something? Anything?

Not really. It's not the first time I've been attacked and lost. Including my most recent memories from back home, it's the third time I've lost in an important battle in a row. Blake saved me, then you and Ruby, and this time I didn't even bother to lose before I tried to call for help. I work perfectly in a team, but I can't stand on my own to save my own life apparently, and I don't care.

[ It's ridiculous. She should care about that. She knows she should. Weiss actually laughs a little about it, unable to stop herself because it's that ridiculous. Who she is, knowing that she doesn't want to seek anything less than perfection, and this repeated failure? It's laughable not to actually care about that, but even the laugh feels empty to her. She moves closer to Zuko, raising Myrtenaster up and pointing its end toward his neck. ]

If I love you, it should make me feel upset if you're hurt. What happens if I don't?

[ But then, she gives him a practiced smile without lowering her sword. It's something she already knew how to do. Normally it's a painful process, but it comes so much more easily now that it almost looks natural. ]

If I can't, I'll fake it. My family and our company can't tell, I'm sure you won't be able to.

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OPEN LOG; EVERGLADE, GENESSIA - do not reply until you read the ooc post

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