( open) la pista è come uno specchio d’argento

[totoriel]

Who: OTA parties interested in the Remove the Obstacles! job, with the added bonus of collecting the frozen-to-the-canal toys and donating them to the orphanage for bonus cookies and affection points from the orphans!
When: Before the start of the Flower Festival.
Where: Anywhere in Caissa!
What: Several Heroes take up Stuart's request of taking care of freeing frozen toys from the canals and repairing ice where they can.
Rating: None, will update as becomes necessary.

The canals are used by citizens looking to shave time off their travel through the city during the winter season, skating on anything but thin ice. The troublemakers salting patches of the smoothed ice has turned it into a hazardous endeavor, made all the worse when wooden toys have been frozen to the ice. Of the Heroes who've stepped up to help take care of this clean-up (or perhaps even catch a culprit in action, despite the guard saying they had a plan in place for the very thing) were finding themselves facing a variety of challenges, up to and including...

One: getting out on the ice. The salted patches aren't too slick, but the rest gets slippery, and those who might be borrowing ice skates to speed up their travel times from trouble spot to trouble spot might be facing the biggest challenge yet. Learning how to ice skate! Or walking out, or giving up and sliding on one's rear end to reach the trouble spots. Whatever works! If people are judging you, well, they're probably no one worth listening to anyway, right?

Two: communication over radios is a dream and a wish, but Heroes do have Carriers, and Carriers do have audio capabilities. Trying to coordinate with fellow Heroes over Carrier-audio is more of a challenge than it may seem, especially with so many new to the idea! (And not all Carriers being willing to cooperate...)

Three: there are places where the salt has thinned the ice too much to support added weight... be careful, Heroes, lest you fall right in! Though if you do fall in, can you swim? Or fight off the shock of potential hypothermia? Oh dear, where are the blankets? Victims of thin ice may need to get wrapped up and brought indoors as soon as possible. Heat 'em up! We don't want our Heroes losing fingers or toes!

Four: though once the wooden toys are found, prying them off the ice is a challenge in and of itself. For those Heroes already tapping in to the Pawn rank's limited magical abilities, matchstick level fires can be effectively used... at a cost. Patience and perseverance are key to this method of toy removal, as will purifying and replenishing one's mana. Toriel will insist that everyone should try and salvage both the toy and ice for the sake of donating these toys to the orphanage along the way. Then again, one might try using brute force to pry the toys free... or see about convincing one of the residents who lives near the canals to allow them to borrow pots of hot water to extract toys that way!

Five: all work and no play leaves people grumpy and gives people aches and pains, which means that breaks are a must have, even for the heroes! If that means earnestly learning how to skate, picking impromptu snowball fights, or volunteering to haul a load of salvaged toys to the orphanage for a cookie break is up to each individual. This may not be their city, but wandering the canals, at least they're bound to get to know the layout of Caissa a little better than before!

Comments

[totoriel]

[ Her eyes move toward her Carrier, cavorting around and pouncing on an imagined shadow on the ice. Or perhaps a real one; fish did survive under frozen surfaces, she's heard. Wouldn't that be curious to see?

At length, having fallen into a complimentary snail's pace, she breathes out in a "ooph" of exertion and rests a hand on her waist. ]

Would you mind helping escort this old lady onward? I believe our next location is not much further than the corner, but it does feel much further.

[ She gives him a soft smile, looking faintly embarrassed. Likewise, she hesitantly offers her arm. Will you help the old goat lady cross the canal, Rory? (...) AD has disappeared around the corner for now. ]

There is much physical training I shall have to endure if I am to keep up with so many young people when we are sent out into the field.

[moreasleep]

[He looked at her paw. What was the meaning of this? She did not look that tired just a moment ago. Nor did she look that old, though admittedly he had no experience gauging the age of goat monsters. She might be up to something. Everyone was.

Yet he could not figure out her motive. Even worse, if she were truthful, what would happen if he did not help her? She could sustain a serious injury. A soldier had already broken his leg on these canals.

After considering this, he finally spoke.] Careful.

[He reached to grasp her wrist, where he could hold her but she could not hold him. It seemed ridiculous to ask him to escort her. He barely knew his way around the ice. At least this way he would be here to catch her if she fell.]

You don't have to put yourself through that. You didn't ask for this.

... ignoring that this is a hug icon IT IS THE SENTIMENT

[totoriel]

[ She'll opt not to mention to anyone that she's presently unable to age, so really, won't show physical signs of it unless she has another child in the future. Details that mean nothing here, particularly not next to the results she was hoping for. With him taking a hold on her, she's able to shuffle along with him, just careful enough to indicate she's aware of and worried about her own stability... but likewise supporting him as they continue walking. He's a very kind young man, she decides. Thoughtful, for all he's likewise wary. ]

I do not believe any of us did, hm? I do not want to see any of us brought like this suffering. I do not want to see the people here suffering, or those they ask us to face. Hiding myself away will solve little in the end. A very brave young child reminded me of that in recent times. They were right to give me the reminder.

[ She smiles, turning her face to Rory. ]

One may forget these things when spending too much time remembering the past and living on their own.

Can't handle this sweet mombeast!

[moreasleep]

[Now that he held her, there was more urgency to keep from falling again. His steps were deliberate and, though he never put much weight on her, the support helped him greatly. Gradually, his strides became longer, more stable.

As she spoke, he grew quiet and grim. Her sentiments were eerily similar to his. He did not want anyone hurt, including her. He wanted her to hide so she could be safe.

She smiled and he did not. His cold stare seemed to be looking beyond her. Would her decision lead to her death? He could not see. Still, he did not need a vision to know it was a bad idea.]

What good would it do if you die out there? [The question came out harsher than he meant. He shook his head. As soon as he asked, he no longer wanted to discuss it.]

Here's one.

[He slowed to a clumsy stop. The wooden toy gun was only slightly embedded in the ice. An easy job; it should not take much to extract. He released her wrist and quietly moved to a nearby toy soldier that looked more difficult to get.]

hasdf she's just so glad he's helping out... and letting her help in turn alsdfj ways to her heart

[totoriel]

[ It's the slow progress she appreciates. People, monster, human, or otherwise, all express themselves differently. Yet Rory is willing to help, and in a sense, be helped. They're not in a great, tenable position, but being willing to do even this much outreach to another in the same place meant they all had a better chance. One person on their own could accomplish great things. People working together? It was powerful. It was potentially what they were facing in Blanc as well as in Noir.

Yet for now, it is in simple things that they connect with each other. ]

So there is! Thank you.

[ She says, waiting for him to move away before she carefully crouches down, keeping her skirt arranged just so. Fire is called again to her fingertip, such a small flame compared to what she was used to back home. Still, the careful applications allow her to weaken the ice where the toy gun had bonded to the surface of the canal. Before too long, she can wiggle it to and fro, then pull it up, leaving a minimal impression on the ice below. AD trots up and leans around her to look at what she's pulled free. She pats his head, then works on brushing the ice off the wooden surface. AD starts to dig at where it'd been, though after a glance down at what he's doing, she ruffles the fur on his head once more.

It's not a perfect way of raking over roughened ice, but he's helping, after his own fashion. ]

I do have to wonder if these are all truly the best of toys for young children.

[ She looks again at the gun in hand, looking small compared to the overall size of her paw. So strange... well, not so strange, but still vaguely unsettling. Guns technically served a purpose, but never within the context of her own world so much. She gives a shake of her head. ]

How is your progress over there?

[ And are there some toys that don't need to make it to the orphanage after all... ]

goat mom is too good for this asshole

[moreasleep]

[The short travel here felt somehow energising to him. He chipped away at the ice with renewed vigour, making short work of it. It also helped to distract him from thinking about what could happen to Toriel in this war.]

I'll take it. It's in good condition.

[He said without looking up. Even if the toy were in poor condition, he knew a few uses for rotted wood. While he did not see anything wrong with giving children a toy gun, he did not see any reason to argue it. They had collected a number of toys for the children to choose from.]

Almost done. There.

[He drove the tool into the ice one last time and the toy soldier came loose. Just as before, he filled in the gap so it would freeze over smoothly. He breathed on his hands one at a time to get warmth back into his fingers. If Toriel had objections to a toy gun, she may have reservations for this toy as well. He held it out for her to see.]

You want to donate this?