koiwamizuiro | 1st Dive: Beginnings [Action]

[A quiet and peaceful slumber after a long, tiring day in high school for Ai Nanasaki ended up with her waking up in the middle of a forest, her body on the ground surrounded by leaves. Not that she thought she was waking up at first, but that she was in the middle of an odd dream, rather. A particularly vivid one.

It was a bit cold - certainly colder than her room had been - and her body didn't feel as relaxed as it did on the comfy mattress. And she was lying on something else other than the ground.

As Ai leaned forward, her eyes inspected her surroundings curiously, her head feeling a bit dizzy. It resembled the hill her grandfather owned, but... there was something off about it. She wasn't on the route she usually took, either - there wasn't one to begin with.

Still feeling something on her back, she reached over her shoulder and touched what felt like a wing. Also, she seemed to be wearing a peculiar white sundress and not the pyjamas she had gone to bed with.]

Huh...

[This was so strange. And it felt real. It didn't feel like a dream.

Ai continued turning her head around, and it wasn't until her gaze landed on a book right beside her when she stopped doing so.

The girl reached out and inspected both covers of the peculiar object with curiosity in her eyes.

Standing up with the book in her hands, she opened it up, trying to make sense of what was happening. But what was inside of it just seemed to confuse her even more at that point.]

Where am I...?

[Her voice sounded as confused as it could be. It was a good question. And why did it feel like she had wings on her back?]

(OOC: Ai will be walking around the forest while inspecting the book, trying to either find anyone who could help explain what was going on or a sign of civilization. You can catch her there.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I can't. Those books only work for this village, or when the enemy decides they want to send a message out to it.

[And it pisses him off. But then almost everything about this situation pisses him off, so while he keeps his voice even, he also still sounds angry. As he keeps going through the forest though, a fair thought happens upon him-]

Which also means the enemy knows everything that happens on them.

[That was an unfortunate thing - in his position, Ai would be upset that she couldn't reach them, either. Garrosh was out of luck purely for being brought here, like her.

She then quirked an eyebrow and thought about what he said in silence before she replied.]

If they have the power to contain us within a bubble and prevent us from leaving... knowing everything that happens does not seem improbable anymore.

[This whole situation sounded like an experiment, so doubtlessly the Malnosso wanted to observe it every step on the way.]

I wonder how they are capable of all this...

[Her voice trailed off as she thought with a degree of fright.]

Some sort of magic, no doubt. [But who cares. He'll figure it out eventually, see it through, kill them, all sorts of stuff like that. For now, no, he just grunts and makes his way to the next snare, crouches, and goes to mess with it]

[Ai would be intimidated if she could read Garrosh's thoughts, but she already had a vague idea of how a potential encounter between Garrosh and the Malnosso would go. Right now, she could only be glad that the orc was on her side.

She closed her book and followed Garrosh to the next snare and watched him as he messed with it, tilting her head to the side curiously, saying nothing for a while. That didn't mean she stopped wondering, though, and she eventually decided to ask her question.]

Are you providing for the village, Mr. Hellscream?

[Despite cultural differences, he was still clearly older than her - the safest bet was to address him like she just did, as strange as it sounded coming from her mouth.]

[Providing...] I intend to ensure the village can provide for itself come spring. For now, I'm feeding myself. [This one has a rabbit. Good. He plucks the dead animal out and puts it in a little bag at hsis waist. He'll skin it and get it ready back at his house, but it does make him grin as he gets to work resetting the trap]

[Ai had to wonder what was available in the village they would go to soon, and whether there was any food they could spare for her... Having been wandering for as long as she had, the girl would inevitably get hungry soon.

The sight of the dead rabbit was not pleasant for her, however, as she looked away for a minute. One of her hands nervously tucked a hair behind her ear in the meantime.]

You... mentioned there were a lot of resources in the village that we are given by the Malnosso, however, Mr. Hellscream. Doesn't that include food?

[Maybe he wouldn't have to be doing this if the rations there were adequately stocked consistently.]

It does, but I am not a sheep. [With a snort as he finishes resetting the trap. He glances back at her, and he doesn't exactly feel sympathy, but he does acknowledge she's been in that sundress for a while and it is cold. If she dies, it's no skin off his back, but he's mildly impressed at how little she's complained back there. He stands decides only one more trap before he goes back.

As he sets off towards it though-] The enemy provides arms, armor, clothing, foods, and conveniences. And the village accepts it all.

[Ai could take the cold some more even if she would've preferred to be somewhere much warmer - and she felt safer being around the orc than wandering in the woods on her own again. She was certainly shivering from time to time, but she was not going to complain until it got unbearable.

Her eyes widened a bit at Garrosh's response in surprise, and she proceeded to think it through while she followed silently, and specifically what she would say. She did not want to anger him, but neither did she want to just drop the subject.]

...Do you not see it as taking advantage instead, Mr. Hellscream? You can use all of these things against the Malnosso... I mean, you could benefit from the energy that every convenience they give provides, make use of their weapons to fight them...

[Perhaps, if the Malnosso were eventually defeated, the fact that they had provided their prisoners with so much would be their undoing. The arms and armor, for one thing, could make all the difference for those who could use them. Of course, Ai wasn't among them, but maybe people like Garrosh...]

If that village weren't dependent on those supplies, perhaps. Orcs take no pride in being the slaves of their enemies, at their beck and call and eating their food as if they were sucking on their mother's teet.

[With a... snarl. He says this all surprisingly evenly though. Like he knew this sort of thing was going to come up as soon as he said what he did about the situation]

...I do not think using these supplies necessarily means that you accept your role as a slave... Maybe that is the Malnosso's mistake, I mean. They may be giving us all these things to make us forget we are actually prisoners and have us be content with the situation, I think...

[Ai could understand Garrosh's reasoning and why it may have been the way it was, which was another reason she didn't want to sound accusatory or condescending, instead being careful with everything she said to him. She didn't detect any hostile intentions from the orc even if he disagreed, which gave her confidence to continue. If she made him frustrated, then the wisest move would be to back off.]

...If you are locked in a cage, for example, and if you are given a means to pick the lock somehow in a way that your captors didn't think of... will you not wait for an opportune time to try to escape?

[In a scenario like that, Ai'd certainly be scared and her heartbeat would be beating so very rapidly, but it would still be a potential way out if she thought it would work...]

[He listens to this. He actually listens and internalizes it, despite it being a small human girl. But all the same, there's one problem with that-]

Until the village controls its production, that can't be used to its potential. [And he snorts at that, moving over towards the next snare, going on with] It is their mistake, but it is a mistake of their village not to exploit it.

1st Dive: Beginnings [Action]

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