Of ceaslessly watching and looking for the sights!

[beholding_archivist]

WHO: Jon & you~
WHERE: Not!Temba
WHAT: Archivist go exploring. What will he find? What will he wake? What will he run away from?
WHEN: What's left of July.
WARNINGS: None so far.

a Let there be books... [ Not!Library? #5 ]

The moment they have reached the new city and have set foot out of the station one thing has been clear: This city is surprisingly different from Temba. Of course they weren't given a name for it, but the architecture alone already differs greatly. There are also a lot more trees in this city and a lot less flooding. Which seems promising in some ways, but comes with its own difficulties. Difficulties such as plain reaching some of the structures.

But before focusing on the difficulties and differences, Jon keeps his eyes open for similarities. He is explicitly looking for data points and signs of a written language. And he actually finds a trace of the first upon reaching the city center.

The data point is burnt out and just sitting in the center of the fountain that looks so very much like the one in Temba. The arrangement of the buildings around also seems familiar as long as one ignores the way these structures were build and of course the amount of trees surrounding them and making the entire city appear darker.

Jon takes a moment to orient himself and cautiously studies the buildings around the fountain before ultimately stepping into the one that appears to serve the same function as the library he has moved into over in Temba. It's cold and dark within these stone walls and he doesn't hesitate long before turning on his torch to move further inside, listening out for noises that might belong to some of the animals he has been hearing outside and up in the trees.

At least some beings still seem to inhabit this city.

b This looks familiar. [ Quarry #6 ]

Temba doesn't have a quarry, but this city does. And the one present here clearly has seen some ample use while beings resided here. Which isn't surprising given how many things are made of large chunks of solid rock. Jon can swear he has seen entire buildings made out of single boulders!

Having crossed through the quarry and standing in front of the massive stone wall at its very end, Jon runs his fingers over the rock, feeling the texture of the surface. It's not an unfamiliar feeling, but not one he would have expected to encounter on Agra 10.

c Alone in the Woods! [ Overgrown Forest #15 ]

A screech from the canopy above tells Jon that he has ventured too far into the forest taking up a good part of the city. It's not a sound of the sort he has been able to hear around the area with more buildings to it, but a harsher, sharper one. One that makes him spin around where he stands and peer up the stray arrangement of boulders that have drawn his attention this deeply into the forest.

"...shit." He mutters to himself as he slowly creeps closer to one of the large rocks and fishes out his phone only to be reminded that he can't access the network anymore.

Somewhere out of his line of sight something heavy hits the ground and Jon can hear it run either away or towards him. Is it circling him? Why hasn't he brought a weapon? He should have brought a weapon.

Grasping a nearby stone, big enough to feel somewhat reassuring in his hand, Jon backs against the boulder and tries to catch sight of whichever creature he can hear somewhere nearby. He also does the sensible thing: Call for help.

"Hello! Can anyone hear me!?"

Comments

a.

[in_extremis]

The first loud sounds came from what was left of the roof, most of it sloughed down to the ground from where the building had collapsed and unstable enough to send a clattering of debris down the slope as something large scrambled its way up to the still standing point. It seemed to pause there for a moment while the dislodged rocks rolled to a stop and the dust shaken from the ceiling began to settle, only to shake the whole building with a crash and thud onto the floor above. What little light filtered through the dense foliage dappled pathetically over the overlooking balcony of the library from the new, wide hole in the decaying roof. It winked out again with a breeze, shifting the leaves across the sunlight.

Whatever had made that hole was undeterred, and started stomping at a steady, confident pace across the floor above.

[beholding_archivist]

The noise initially makes Jon flinch and shine his light in the respective direction, but it quickly becomes clear that whatever is making this noise isn't inside the building. It might well life up on the roof it is climbing onto and Jon can't help but feel reminded of hos the library over in Temba is being overtaken by mothcats despite the presence of people.

He sighs and heads further inside, pausing as the shelves that are just as empty as the ones in Temba, but notably fewer. And made of stone. The entire building is smaller, more compact in its design and these shelves hardly look as if they ever held books or even data points.

The stomping from above pulls his attention away from the shelf again as whatever wanders around up there crosses right over Jon's head, causing a fine drizzle of dust and debris to crumble down on him.

[in_extremis]

The dust continued to rain down like a wake after the retreating sound of footsteps, sending a disturbed nest of beetles swarming out of a crack near the ceiling and disappearing into the shadows of the long abandoned space. The thing above moved toward the entrance, where the stairs in the library of Temba were uncomfortably tall and led to a landing overlooking the much less flamboyant garden. Here, the steps were uneven from decay, but short enough to make an easy trip down for a sudden, rapid approach. Rocks crunched under the weight of the steps making their way directly for Jon, lured easily by the flare of his light.

[beholding_archivist]

The continued rain of dirt is reason enough for Jon to step aside, casting a frown up and after the footsteps and where they are headed. Back down and towards the entrance of the building. Jon squints a little at the figure appearing in the open door, a shadow against what light shines in from the outside. Then the shadow approaches, its movements and shape gaining familiarity and by the time Jon directs his light at the figure he already knows who it is that has joined him in this place.

"Hello, Tony." He nods, offering a warm smile. "You were on the roof?"

[in_extremis]

"For a minute," Tony admitted, and grinned despite his short-lived roof exploration clearly leaving him battered and the expression twisting his scraped and smudged cheek. He swept closer with a glance up and around at the shadowy corners, trying to squint through the low light as he stomped across the library in his heavy, metal boots until he could slide his less armored arm around Jon's shoulders to press a kiss to his crown. "Hello, beloved," he greeted there in a murmur, and only moved away slightly to press, "What are you doing wandering around alone?"

[beholding_archivist]

While Jon wouldn't necessarily admit it out loud, the petname does bring some warmth to his cheeks and he permits himself to relish the moment of closeness with his own hand brushing up Tony's back as he gives his answer in a tone he hopes is casual enough. "Exploring the city. As intended." He pauses, then glances down to Tony's armored feet. "I didn't notice you bringing these."

He has barely finished that sentence when a new, a different scraping noise can be heard from the ceiling and yet again dirt and sand comes raining down on them. But this time looking up will reveal a creature half climbed through one of the holes in the ceiling and peering down at them cautiously.

[in_extremis]

Jon's very casual answer is met with an equally casual hum, just the tail of it taking on a skeptical edge as Tony tickled his fingertips up the back of Jon's vulnerable neck with a meaningful pout. He could explore all he wanted, but it would have been polite if he made sure that Tony could at least find the body if it went wrong, and Tony hadn't had the chance to figure out what was blocking their network signal yet. It was already at the top of the list, but figuring out where Jon had gone had been something of a detour.

"They pack away easily. They're compact," Tony happily explained the armor, twisting one of the toes up to rock his heel back and forth and catch the light off of the metal with some pride before the pebble bouncing off of it managed to catch Tony's attention. He tipped his head back with his nose wrinkled to peer up at the culprit, irritated expression quickly shocked into caution at actually making eye contact with...what the hell was that? Its eyes rolled independently, one twitching and following Tony's unsteady step back away from Jon, hand trailing down Jon's arm, the other eye scanning the library shelves. It clearly wasn't used to people in its space, because it wasn't particularly deterred from squeezing further through the hole, its bulbous fingers sticking easily to the ceiling to keep it balanced, and extending its neck to taste the air inquisitively. "He's not with me," Tony insisted out of the side of his mouth, free hand out to deny any roof-climbing connection.

[beholding_archivist]

While Jon remains aware of the fact that the network is inaccessible to them at the moment, he doesn't feel particularly in danger. Yes, he felt a little uneasy upon entering this old, partially broken building, but not necessarily endangered.

"Maybe I should have invested in some protective gear while we were on Coruscant." He muses while watching the light bounce off of Tony's foot. "Maybe no outright armor. I will leave that domain to you, Echo and Din, but--" And that's as far as these musings go before Jon as well finds himself look up and in the face of their visitor as it gradually shifts color.

The creature is roughly the size of a small horse with its strong body carried on oddly long limbs, each ending in a large, clawed hand. A long and thick purple tongue darts out of its mouth to lazily lick over one of its eyes while the other switches between tracking Tony's movement and Jon.

"Jesus Christ, do you- Do you think it lives here?" And more importantly, is it dangerous?

[in_extremis]

There was exactly one question that Tony was capable of answering about this creature, so he tore his gaze away from it to roll toward Jon with his lip raised incredulously for the asking. His gesturing hand remained suspended in the air, becoming a kind of placating gesture toward the creature as it continued its slightly off-putting, slow examination, more of it folding in through the hole in the roof and its head angling watchfully, all the while mottling with more of the grey stone colour of the ceiling. What Tony could answer was a slightly belated, "Anything you want, boss, you know I'll make--augh!"

The animal was moving so carefully that Tony didn't anticipate that long tongue suddenly darting in between them, sending Tony stumbling back another step and recoiling from the glistening membrane. Almost as fast as it appeared, it went reeling back in, liberally coated now in a still writhing smattering of the nesting beetles and a generous array of pebbles, its sticky surface uncompromising. As the animal thoughtfully considered its bounty, jaw working in that same slow, deliberate way and the inedible rocks falling from the corners of its mouth, Tony tugged Jon closer again and watched with some horror. That was gross. And there was no way they were going to be able to give this place a proper examination if that thing was...watching. Maybe Tony could just startle it away, so after watching yet another stone fall from its lips, Tony tried a sharp whistle.

It certainly didn't like the sound that echoed around the library, startled jerking suddenly as it tried to retreat, but lodged part way through the hole in the roof and in a panic mostly made the creature strain against the rocks and send a new shower of debris down to the floor. Effectively cornered, it used its next best option to retaliate, and spat its long tongue out toward the threat.

It stuck.

c

[on_repeat]

It's like a field mission. A field mission Gone awry.

Not that there aren't any missions that stay relatively safe on an active battleground, but Echo quickly reacquaints himself with the threat of danger Not-Temba offers.

He fully expected it before he got there, but it feels like it's all happening too fast. In the middle of scaling one of the boulders, the sudden trembling of the ground leaves him wary of his surroundings, forcing him to wait before continuing.

It doesn't last long. The call for help is faint, but he tries to look in the direction he assumes it's coming from. Which can be anywhere in this place. Getting closer to the top of the rock, he calls out in return, keeping his eyes peeled. "Someone out there?"

[beholding_archivist]

"H-hello? Echo? Is that you?" Jon calls back, peering up and over his shoulder in the direction he has heard the voice from. Which already has been a relief in itself, knowing that he isn't entirely alone in this forest with whatever he can clearly hear getting closer. And fast.

He takes a step away from the boulder and strains his neck in hopes to catch sight of the clone, but before he does, he hears a roar nearby and a large creature comes leaping through the trees, eyes set on the Archivist and quite obviously about to lunge at the man.

[on_repeat]

"Jon– "

Whatever the Archivist is hearing, Echo hears it too. The helmet jerks up again to actually see the beast in action, coming in too fast, alarm in his voice. "Get clear!" One hand reaches behind him, grabbing his blaster and firing several shots at it to buy the man some time.

[beholding_archivist]

Neither someone used to such quick and concise instructions, nor one to grasp a situation quickly when under pressure, Jon calls a confused question back up. "Get what?"

Jon doesn't get the chance to await an answer when the creature gets shot at, quickly redirecting his attention only to see it nimbly avoid getting hit, but also misses its opportunity to properly pounce at the Archivist, who lets out a yelp of surprise. The creature leaps right past the man, growling angrily before darting back into the thick bushes.

[on_repeat]

'Civvy' is the automatic response that comes to Echo's mind in regards to Jon's confusion. He doesn't fault him for it, however; not everyone is trained for dangerous situations, and this isn't one against an army of battle droids.

He loses track of the creature when it dives back into the brush, the barrel of the blaster drifting between each potential reentry point. "Get clear or hide!" he yells. "Thing's faster than I thought it was!"

[beholding_archivist]

No, Jon certainly isn't trained for dangerous situations. He wasn't even properly trained to be an archivist. And even less to be THE Archivist.

"H-hide? How am I- Where?! This is a forest!" How does one hide from a predator in a forest in its natural hunting grounds? How does one hide within a forest in general? Jon doesn't know.

Which may be why he is doing the next best thing: Try to hide behind one of the trees, hoping that does anything. He doesn't believe it to be the best idea either, but given that he can hear movements coming closer again, he has to hope.

[on_repeat]

Echo holds his breath – most of which builds on the tension of waiting for the beast's reappearance, although part of it lends itself toward the Archivist's inevitable panic.

"Just do what you can," he advises, maintaining the edge in his voice. He then steals a glance to where he thinks Jon may be. "I'll come to you–"

Just as he starts to finish that sentence, he picks up on the predator's movements, helmet jerking up again to look at his surroundings. With nothing in plain sight, he begins to move, leaping from one boulder to another to do what he says he'd do.

[beholding_archivist]

"...obviously that isn't much..." Jon mutters to himself at those instructions and sticks to his tree, turning around to keep his back against it while keeping eyes and ears open for any sight or sound of the creature. And he does, in fact, hear things. Many things. This is a forest after all and if it isn't the wind, then more animals than that one that just tried to make him a snack live in it as well.

At least for now it seems the creature doesn't go for another try. It may still be stalking around nearby, cautiously observing rather than blindly charging in again. Which makes sense, to say the least. Every animal Jon knows about first and foremost tries to stay alive. Avoiding injury at all cost is the most natural thing when even seemingly trivial injuries mean certain death for a wild animal.

For a moment Jon believes to hear the faint thud of large paws hitting the soft forest floor followed by the rustling of some leaves, but he can also pick up the approaching steps of Echo and turns his head to look in the clone's direction. "I think it's still around." He says. "Thank you."

B

[doubled_speed]

"It's bothering you too, isn't it?"

Tommy had been exploring Not-Temba quite a bit, to the point where he'd rigged himself up a backpack just stuffed with food so that he could keep himself in the calories needed to explore this place, to try and figure out the mystery. This wasn't his first time looking at the quarry either. But had been coming by the space from the station and caught sight of someone looking around, so of course he had come over.

He was glad, too, that it was Jon. He was definitely thoughtful about this place, so he had questions, he really did. Maybe Jon could help him figure out his own mind.

[beholding_archivist]

"You have seen this before as well, haven't you." Jon returns with a pensive frown still lingering on his face as he looks over to Tommy before nodding a quiet greeting at him. Tommy is always a welcome face for Jon to encounter.

He looks back at the stone wall in front of him and then up. It's massive, speaking of a lot of stone being carried out of this place. Enough to build an entire city, apparently. "It doesn't add up with what we know so far."

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah," Tommy admitted, frowning as his fingers moved to brush over some rock. Something in his head screamed that he knew this, but he didn't know what.

"What we know so far?"

[beholding_archivist]

"About the Agrii." Jon answers. "The way they live. This place- It seems similar to Temba, but also different. Not meant for Agrii to live here."

He then turns to face Tommy fully. "Also, we have seen this stone before, haven't we. On a different planet."

[doubled_speed]

Haven't they? Tommy frowns as he lets his fingers brush the material.

"Have we? Coruscant?"

The Graq world was so long ago.

[beholding_archivist]

"You remember the Graq?"

Come on, Tommy. It's hardly been a year. You don't necessarily have to be a living archive to remember having met some alien, spit-happy teddy bears.

[doubled_speed]

He does. Tommy flinches as he remembers their spit first and foremost. And it's been a year for Jon. With Tommy's different perspective on time, it's been a LOT longer.

"They did this, with stone," he dredged up from his memory.

[beholding_archivist]

"They did." Jon nods. He had studied their works when he visited the planet with Tony. After what had happened on the Agrii ship they had remained cautious towards Jon, but very happy to interact with Tony, which literally left Jon with ample time to look at walls while the other man talked with the Graq.

It hadn't help that he didn't have the Communications expertise back then himself.

"...I am not sure what this might mean, though. And I... I feel reluctant to truly consider the possibilities."