revivalproject | Of ceaslessly watching and looking for the sights!

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Of ceaslessly watching and looking for the sights!

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!?"

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"Oh?" And Jon's attention is on Tony now, following his every word and the explanation he has to offer. Right. Unlike Jon, Tony has had the communications expertise this entire time, also when they were visiting the planet the Graq considered their home.

"I suppose it makes sense? here isn't anything like artificial lighting here after all. They only had the sun to provide them with light, so naturally it will have been important." And the fear of the Dark very dominant. "That should be helpful for figuring the rest of the inscriptions out!"

"If there's any more of those things, we might have a whole alphabet!" Tony agreed enthusiastically, just in time for his voice to echo shockingly loud in yet another weirdly empty room. His fist that had come up to gesture triumphantly quickly dropped apologetically as he took in the dusty hall, where less of the foliage had encroached with less access points like the shattered roof behind them in the library. The effect was not immediately assuring Tony that it was likely they were going to find any further evidence of written words, the space as meticulously cleaned out as the library shelves.

Curiously, Tony padded on away from Jon to check the first door he saw, sliding it up more easily without the degradation blocking the way, to find a very neat looking classroom with rows of desks and a sigh of that misty rain through a window that had been punctured by another stone column. The humidity being allowed into this room had left that far wall around the window soft with moss, and the perfect place for what appeared to be a large nest. And while it was evident that it hadn't been the wildlife that set up these desks, there was no obvious sign that anyone else had ever been here, either. It looked like a movie set, all surfaces and no storage. Staring at this display, Tony wondered, "Why do you think they forgot that Big Light thing?" Someone had put in the work to purge everything else, after all, like the broken data points.

Being just as curious to see what awaits behind that door, Jon first peeks around Tony, then slips past him and into this empty classroom. Somehow having a classroom like this feels oddly out of place in the first place, but it's here...

"It could be left being on purpose." He says the first obvious possibility. "Or it was forgotten, which I have a hard time believing." He steps past the rows of desks to the front of the room and to the hole in the wall, stopping in front of the nest-like structure to consider it for a moment. "What do you thin live in here, Tony...?"

The thoroughness of how stripped this building was stripped otherwise did make it seem unlikely that it was a mistake to leave the piece behind, but that didn't get them any closer to why. Tony wandered with less focus into the room, meandering around the desks as he considered, "But was it left by the system," hands out to encompass whoever was running this show, "or is someone trying to help us out?" If they knew they had a mole, that might change how they approached the problem.

He was slower to join Jon by the nest, and shot him a sidelong look for his intrigue, not sure how intimately he wanted to investigate any more of the animals in here himself. That didn't stop Tony from crouching to try to get a better look into the structure, where he announced, "There's eggs. Some kind of bird?" While Tony was frowning at them, considering how desperate they would have to be to try eating one and calculating the multitude of paths they could take instead, this was about the time that a familiar tongue came whizzing through the window to pap softly against the side of the nest, its sticky surface easily gluing a new, dead leaf and bundle of broken twigs to the side of its masterpiece.

Jon has just leaned down to peer into the nest along with Tony when the tongue happened, making the Archivist jump with its appearance, both hands up as he spins around to see a familiar green head slowly poking in through the window, tongue retreating back into its mouth, which closes slowly before the creature considers them and their presence for a while. Its eyes shift around searchingly for a few moments before it proceeds to very slowly climb inside.

"Oh, Christ. We- We haven't touched your nest!" Jon attempts to reassure the creature and pointedly takes a step away from the structure. "Tony and I, we- We will leave. D-don't worry!"

Evidently, this animal had yet to figure out exactly what to make of these intruders, because it really should have been keeping its distance after that last encounter, Tony thought. He was slower to stand and back away toward Jon, hand out to keep the snack behind him in case the animal was considering another taste, watching as the animal largely seemed unbothered and approached the nest with another bundle of sticks clutched in its dexterous hand. It was clearly made for climbing and grabbing more than crafting, though, because it patted with awkward, slow motions against the opening of the nest, mostly scattering its tools around the floor and its other front foot that it used to balance the length of its scaly body as it hung still from the edge of the window. Tony's shoulders relaxed slightly as it worked, and he glanced over his shoulder at Jon with eyebrows raised, then pointedly around the room. No spiderwebs in here, despite the open window. Someone might have been controlling the population.

"I was promised a coffee," Tony corrected, and though he didn't move too suddenly, he picked his deliberate way back through the room to drop himself decisively in the seat at what had to be the teacher's desk for this class, where he could survey the whole scene and keep an eye on the animal and its work, like Tony might have some expert pointers on the craft. Jon's bag was pushed onto the desk, where Tony could rummage in it for any thermoses.

Unlike Tony, Jon has been very much ready to retreat and leave the creature alone. Which makes it even more of a surprise when Tony does anything but retreat and... Instead gets comfortable?

Jon just blinks at him widely a few times before looking from Tony to the occupied animal and back again.

"Ah-" Jon starts and looks back to the large lizard. "-I mean-" Back to Tony. "...is it ignoring us?" It certainly looks that way to Jon and once more he looks back to the creature to silently observe it a few moments. That sure isn't the most accurate work they get to watch there, but- Somehow it must work for this creature? And slow as it may be with its clawed hand, that tongue sure comes out swiftly to pick up some of those dropped twigs and glue them onto a different spot.

All the while, however, one of its eyes is watching them.

Eventually, Jon just nods. "...r-right." And he turns back to Tony, only to see him search for the coffee. With a silent sigh Jon moves over to the desk and sits onto the surface itself while waiting for Tony to find the container, which shouldn't be difficult. "...you think it.... Is alright with us being here?"

It didn't seem to be entirely ignoring them, though Tony suspected that if they went still for long enough it would forget they were there, so after they watched it together for that quiet beat he shrugged at Jon with a pout, completely at a loss. As Jon joined him at the desk, Tony retrieved the thermos with a triumphant smile and set about pouring the cup full as he considered the unknowable mind of the alien animal.

"I think he's a man who takes pride in his work and isn't shy about showing it off," he decided, evidently happy that this animal was not just likely to eat Jon but a craftsman. Was that relatable? Results were inconclusive, and in the meantime Tony tipped his head slightly to allow for the correction, "Mom?," because the work the animal was engaged in was the full nest, so perhaps 'man' was not the proper descriptor.

With his wrapped hands in his own lap Jon listens to Tony, but at the same time again looks back to the animal, tipping his head from one side to the other pensively. "Hm. Could be either." He wasn't going to try and figure out the gender of a lizard easily as large and heavy as himself. Though the creature does prove to be quite fascinating to watch. "If it doesn't mind our presence, we.... Could learn about it."

Learning about it sounded like a step too far for Tony, earning Jon a skeptical frown, because Tony wasn't exactly here to be some kind of naturalist. That wasn't far enough off from what he thought he intended for Tony's comfort, though, because using the animal to find out what around here was actually a threat, what was safe to eat, and to get it to eat the most upsetting bugs for them all sounded a lot like learning about it. Gross. To keep either of them from thinking about Tony's deviant biologist behaviours, Tony leaned back casually in his seat with the cup left steaming on the desk and holding the thermos itself to sip from, crossing his ankles with his legs outstretched before him, trying for the put upon teacher at the end of the semester already nursing a hangover. "If you want to pass this class at this point, Mr. Sims," he said, "your report on the alien tongue monster has to be the best work of your life. You really should have thought of this before slacking off so much."

Since Jon has been observing the large lizard picking up the dropped sticks one by one with its tongue and very patiently add them all to its nest, he has missed part of the display and only turns a bewildered look back to the other man after Tony has finished setting up his pose.

"Wha-?" There is a pause in which Jon just looks at Tony, then shifts a bit how he sits on the desk to face Tony a little better and tilt his head to the side a little as he takes in the way the other man has made himself comfortable. Right. He's playing.

After letting his look of mild disbelief linger on Tony for a moment, Jon resets his expression into a remotely teasing little frown before raising his two wrapped hands into view. "You may have to help me write then, Professor."

Not expecting Jon to indulge this game at all almost had Tony breaking character immediately, his eyebrows jumping with the delight he had to stifle to look reasonably unimpressed with this...insubordination. Was that the kind of teacher that ran this weirdly empty classroom with a lizard nest in it? Tony would have to work it out as he went. How much Jon would actually play along with what Tony accused him of was much more important. "Why should I do that for you?" he asked, hand to his heart and looking affronted like he couldn't possibly be the sort of person that insisted on being Jon's hands for him. "I've already got all of this paperwork to do because of you, and this is the third time I'll have to call your parents this semester because of your disruptive behaviour. That's going to be hours of my time already. Do I have a favourite student to compare you to? Probably. The favouritism is blatant, too, I'm not even ashamed of it."

There doesn't seem anything bad about playing along in Jon's eyes at least. hey had found a dry, possibly secure corner to rest and wait out the weather and lamenting their findings can be put on hold for a moment of indulgence.

And so Jon pulls up a single brow and underlines it with a pout. "I'm pretty sure last time I still was your favorite. At least you kept saying that." As he speaks, his eyes drift to the little cup of coffee left next to him on the table and Jon makes to carefully try and pick it up despite the bandaging of his hand. As he does so, Jon's voice tips into curiosity. "Are you sure you don't just want to keep me around?"

It was more difficult to maintain the character then as Tony watched Jon's careful navigation of the cup, making Tony sit up and not quite offer to help, but lean in with the thermos pushed aside to free his hand as he slid the other up Jon's hip to hug across his lap in an incredibly inappropriate way for a very professional educator. This had Tony snickering when he looked up from this compromising position that was meant to be a steadying offer and tried to return, "Oh, last time. Is that why I'm so disappointed now? My star pupil has fallen in with the wrong crowd and doesn't have any time for me anymore. I had such high hopes. I saw myself in you." He almost made it all the way through without breaking into a lascivious smirk, too, and didn't bother to try to suppress that expression, tipping his head coquettishly instead.

And compromising as it may be, it quickly proves wise of Tony to having put himself in that position, for Tony's words combined with that look nearly have Jon drop the cup as he tries to swallow a flustered little hiccup that ends in a quick choke and a flushed stare down at the man now draped over his lap.

"A- I mean- Yeah. That's- One way to put it?" Jon manages, but doesn't quite succeed at returning the smirk without appearing clumsy. "Do we need refresh that image?"

While it wasn't the circumstance he was preparing for, Tony gladly steadied the cup with his freed hand, a small price to pay for still being able to fluster Jon by flirting. Jon's smirk that looked more like a grimace broke what control Tony had over his chuckle, so it was at odds with the serious frown he tried to knit his brow into and his thoughtful nod as he gingerly took the cup from Jon for now and coaxed him off of the desk with the hand brushing up his side. "That depends," Tony purred, and drew back into his casual seat again with an inviting tug to Jon's shirt, "on what you're willing to do to get the grade."

At least being encouraged to slip off the desk also takes that odd expression off of Jon's face, replacing it with intrigued curiosity among a lingering blush. He follows the tug willingly until he is close enough to place each of his legs on either side of Tony's, allowing him to look down on the man and take a moment to simply admire his face. His nose, his lips currently set into that devilish smile and framed so well by that sharp jawline... And of course his eyes. Bound to leave Jon struggling to maintain whatever character this is even supposed to be.

He exhales slowly and reaches a hand forward to brush it against the side of Tony's face, the bandages diminishing the sensation of skin brushing against skin, but the gesture remains and Jon's offer is about as unconvincing as it could be. "I could study really hard?"

Jon's words become even less convincing when his other hand moves to the other side of Tony's face and he leans down to kiss the man.

They were both going to have to work on that character thing, because Tony's eyes were far too affectionately soft for the game he was trying to play, and flickered briefly with concern at the touch to his cheek. He raised careful fingers to Jon's wrist to caution against any further fumbling, but that hand was quickly joining the other skimming up Jon's sides to take his weight and help him closer into Tony's lap as he laughed, "Uh-huh?," and impatiently surged up to meet Jon's kiss.

This was a mistake.

The old chair hadn't handled that kind of weight in some time, groaning in protest as Tony hugged Jon closer, though it might have survived if that was all. At the same time, Tony's lashes fluttered, intending to make sure Jon wasn't overbalanced, but in the shift of his body he had revealed a curious green head peaking up over the edge of the desk over his shoulder. Tony gave enough of a start in surprise that he dug his heel into the ground to scoot the chair back, only to hear a sickening crack instead.

The chair tipped violently back on its broken leg, Tony yelped, and they went crashing to the floor.

"WOAH!"

Maybe they should have foreseen this. Maybe they could have been more aware of their surroundings. Maybe they plain should have kept in mind that there is another being in the room - One that has already proven to be incredibly curious.

But nothing of these has been the case.

And as a result Jon crashes down along with Tony, landing roughly on the man's chest and inevitably knocking the wind out of both of them.

On the other side of the desk, the lizard jumps as well at the sudden movements and loud noises and initially runs to one side of the room, then up the wall it encounters there and continues to scramble around the ceiling in a clearly spooked manner before coming to a sudden stop on top of its nest-structure, staying entirely still after assuming a guarded stance. In the blink of an eye its color has shifted to match the nest and there it sits, cautiously watching again.

Jon lets out a wince as he starts to push himself off of Tony. The pain is temporary, he knows that. It still hurts and Jon is not a person that is grand or very willing to hide his suffering. He still finds himself more concerned with Tony and raises his head to check on him. "Tony? Are you alright? What happened?" No, he hasn't actually seen the lizard darting around the ceiling himself.

Tony went, "Whuff!" as Jon crushed him to the floor, leaving his giggle that followed while Jon tried to recover a mostly silent and breathless shake of his shoulders until Tony could cough and catch his breath. "Ahh-ow," he complained as well then in response, one eye winced shut and a more dramatic whine than really necessary for the knock to the back of his head and shards of chair digging into his back, that quickly turned into another chuckle. In the fall, he hadn't tracked where the animal had gone either, so he took his time searching where he could see from his position on the floor before he explained, "That fucking lizard, didn't want to be left out of the tongue action."

"...l-lizard..." Jon mumbles back, his eyes slowly drifting through the room until he, too, spots their hidden friend quietly observing them. "...oh."

He gives another wince when pushing himself off Tony entirely and into a position of mostly sitting on the floor, though Jon's attention quickly shifts back to Tony and he raises a hand towards the other man's head. Tony may be laughing, but that doesn't make Jon any less worried about him. "How badly have you hit your head?"

"It's fine, I'm fine," Tony insisted as he struggled upright as well, shoving the broken bits of chair out from under him with one hand and keeping the other weighted on Jon's leg so he couldn't go too far. With none of the debris poking him in the ass, Tony gingerly checked the back of his head with another grimace, so he could add conclusively, "I've done more damage falling out of bed." To prove it to Jon, he turned a shining grin up at him, see, radiant as ever, and tipped closer to finally give that aborted kiss its proper conclusion and wipe any further worrying from Jon's schedule. They didn't need any further proof that this was not the best time or place to make out, like the rest of this terrible planet, apparently, so Tony was going to take what he could get with a smile and a sigh and maybe he could survive another day.

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Of ceaslessly watching and looking for the sights!

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