”Oh, fuck off, ya blind bitch…! Ya ain’t the one that’s a fuckup away from bein’ caught...!” he barked, furrowing his brows further as he hooked around yet another corner. Another cursory glance behind him had been all it took for him to search along his waist for the capsules fastened along his belt, and as he snapped his gaze onto the path before him once more, he’d barely freed one of the creatures from their confines, finding himself dashing alongside a familiar Sharpedo. ”If you’re gonna fuckin’ help me, then just say it! We’re on a schedule, here!”[break][break]

With another, quick shift of the weight against his shoulder, he grasped the strap of the bag he hauled along within a tighter manner before leaping, pulling himself onto the selfsame beast that he’d called out only moments after it manifested. Rough scales and skin would be something he’d have to just put up with until he was in the clear, so with only a quick second to secure himself as much as possible, he leaned further against the shark’s back, urging it to jet forward as fast as possible.[break][break]

”How far are ya from where we started?”[break][break]

---

MP TRACKER (80 MP)[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

• Postdormitum Mission Participation (cargo, 1/2) (+50 MP)
• IC Post (+10 MP)
  

---

• IC Post (+10 MP)
• Feelings of paranoia (of being caught) (+10 MP)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
outfit. on the nose, i know lmfao

☉

In a brief respite from the sights around him, a faint smirk tugged upon his lips as a small snort left him.[break][break]

”Ah, yeah. The blind shit,” he sighed with no shortage of faux disappointment, shaking his head. ”Tragic, honestly. Bet there’s be so much weird shit for ya to see over there, if I’m gettin’ the right fuckin’ impressions where I am…”[break][break]

He narrowed his eyes as his own surroundings seemed to coalesce into a faint, seemingly cosmic cloud, prompting him to draw forth to a gradual stop in stride. Though it seemed to be growing larger in size, it seemed…stationary. Safe enough to watch from a distance, as far as he was concerned.[break][break]

He sighed.[break][break]

”Shit’s literally a fuckin’ acid trip, man…” he muttered, scrunching his face pensively all the while. ”Can’t say I smell anythin’, though. Ya sure ya ain’t havin’ a stroke, or somethin’?”[break][break]

---

MP TRACKER (90 MP)[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

• Postdormitum Mission Participation (interdream, 1/2) (+50 MP)
• Incorporating realm's mutations (+10 MP)
• IC Character Post (+10 MP)
  

---

• Incorporating realm's mutations (+10 MP)
• IC character post (+10 MP)

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
outfit. on the nose, i know lmfao

☉

Go.[break][break]

He gritted his teeth beneath the mask, looking throughout the streets and towns quickly.[break][break]

Go.[break][break]

He turned a corner, breathing a low, frustrated sigh under his breath as the sound of footsteps—thunderous, and rapid, and near—continued behind him. There was no time to stall or catch his breath— because why would there be? There was loads and loads of shit that needed to be brought to and fro between their mission point and the cities, so of course—of-fucking-course—he had to be unlucky enough to get spotted by chance.[break][break]

His only saving grace was, honestly, the fact that no one had seen his face, but it was his gear, altogether, that garnered attention, to begin with.[break][break]

Because fuck him for being ready for the whole plan, and all.[break][break]

”Yo…! Ori…!” he growled, one hand on his comms link while the remaining kept the strap of his bag held against his person. ”I still got ‘em on my fuckin’ tail…! Ya got outta there, yeah?”[break][break]

---

MP TRACKER (60 MP)[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

• Postdormitum Mission Participation (cargo, 1/2) (+50 MP)
• IC Character Post (+10 MP)
  

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
outfit. on the nose, i know lmfao

☉

”...Fuck’s sake, man.”[break][break]

There was a lot to do in such a short amount of time, so within the chaos of it all, the idea of doing recon seemed reasonable enough to him. After all, he’d be a stupid bastard not to have some semblance of what he was getting into when in the face of something so…obscure. So surreal.[break][break]

He’d remembered the briefings and other tidbits in the past.[break]
Even then, he couldn’t help but have some sense of awe.[break][break]

Awe, as the foreground before his eyes shifted constantly with each step. Awe, as the background pulsed oddly and vividly within the distance before seemingly freezing in place. He furrowed his brows beneath the mask he wore as he watched, warily, for several moments, briefly stopped within his tracks.[break][break]

And just as he felt to deem the obscurity passed, it pulsed once more, that time erupting into a flash, a blackness, and then what he could only assume to be a mass of stars, webbed and layered across one another with distance, at the end of it all.[break][break]

It blinded him at first, truly— enough to the point that he hadn’t quite realized he’d lifted a hand to shield his eyes until a small while after. He clicked his tongue softly, shutting and opening his eyes repeatedly for a few times before beginning to walk again.[break][break]

”God—... Hey. Tahuna to Ori,” he murmured under his breath as he activated his communications link, though not without keeping a constant, careful eye upon his ever-changing surroundings. ”Where are you? Ya ain’t too far behind, are ya?”[break][break]

---

MP TRACKER (70 MP)[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

• Postdormitum Mission Participation (interdream, 1/2) (+50 MP)
• Incorporating realm's mutations (+10 MP)
• IC Character Post (+10 MP)
  

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
outfit. on the nose, i know lmfao

☉

And then there was silence.[break]
Not that he minded, anyways.[break][break]

Chatterbox he was, but a lull in words just meant more time to properly look the menu over— and so with a quick sweep of the hand had he done exactly that. In a small matter of time, the aforementioned sheet found its way between his fingers, and he gave a small, instinctive and absentminded hum under his breath while beginning to peruse the selections towards the top.[break][break]

Before long, though, the sound of her voice met his ears again, but it was the implications behind the words it carried that sparked a sense of curiosity within him.

”Naw, this was a hundred percent my decision,” he hummed back, raising a brow at her. A sidelong grin tugged upon his lips to accompany it as he tilted his head slightly. ”Almost makes it sound like ya got bullied into this yourself, though~.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

Oooh. ‘Scammer,’ is such a harsh, harsh word…[break]
Checked out, though. Fitting for the truth.[break][break]

”Ehhh, I’ll live~,” he chuckled, maintaining a smile all the while. With a gaze lingering upon her, he leaned further back into his seat within a leisurely manner, tilting his head with a small hum. ”Nothing contacts can’t solve, anyways. Or glasses. Depends on how cute I’m feelin’~.”[break][break]

He slipped his hands into his pockets.[break][break]

Fuck if someone ain’t got it worse, anyways.[break][break]

A jab made in nothing short of silence, and one that he couldn’t help but stifle a snicker at in the face of what was supposed to be normalcy. Anyone he befriended would eventually learn about how much of a sarcastic ass he was, anyways—so quick to burn and be burned in good fun—but this was all about first impressions. Swoon the girl, and there would be time for all of that and more in the future.[break][break]

Maybe. Hell if he knew.[break]
Hell if he cared much, either, but eh.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: sleepless in slateport

☉

He snorted, narrowing his eyes for a short while before nudging her hands up.[break][break]

”Up here, ya blind bitch,” he snickered, clicking his tongue. His arms crossed as quickly as they’d unfolded in order to move once more, and with a faintly crooked grin, he tilted his head towards her. ”And nah— still stand by what I said.”[break][break]

He inhaled deeply following that, humming.[break][break]

”Don’t knock yourself when you’re your worst critic, Cuz,” he added. ”You’re a bigger catch than ya think. Guarantee it.”

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

”...Did ya not hear what I just fuckin’ said?” he sighed, brows furrowing as he flicked his hand and knuckles against the side of her head as she turned away once more. ”That’s why I said to fuckin’ play in the pool? Y’know?”[break][break]

He crossed his arms within a lazy manner, inhaling deeply whilst tapping a finger against his arm in thought. In spite of his tone and gestures, however—and in spite of his earlier demeanor—a faint smirk settled upon his lips at her latter words.[break][break]

”Whatever, though. ‘Course ya are,” he added not too long after, shrugging. ”Anyone’d be pretty lucky, not gonna lie.”

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

”And that’s why ya gotta play in the pool,” he sighed, inhaling deeply soon afterward. ”Either that, or get lucky enough t’find someone that’s as ride or die as you are. …Someone in the business that wouldn’t rat ya out.”[break][break]

He furrowed his brows softly, a brief bout of quiet thought overcoming him as the words forged within the flames of his mind as those before him raged ever on.[break][break]

”...Anythin’ t’make sure history ain’t gonna repeat itself again,” he added, murmuring. ”Gettin’ fucked over once or twice’s already more than enough, I’d imagine.”

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
mission: slumber party

☉

Everything she’d said honestly rang clear and true.[break]
Even then, though, the bitter taste lingered and spread further.[break][break]

”...I dunno,” he murmured yet again, a groaning sigh of exasperation leaving his lips once more. He eyed her arm as her hand lingered atop his head before inhaling deeply and reaching over to brush it aside. ”Can’t imagine how it feels, but again, it’s obviously a shit situation even as an outsider looking in.”[break][break]

He narrowed his eyes towards the flames once more, crossing his arms as he shifted against the log behind him absentmindedly.[break][break]

”...Just feel like given’ ‘em a dose of karma is the next best thing. It’s petty, but still.”

ARIADNE MAUCH [break]
mission: slumber party

☉